LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

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Shelf,.: 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



TH E 



Pulpit and Pew 



OR 



Preacher and People. 



' /by 

[>-", , T. C. BLAKE, D.D. 

it 



" Make full proof of thy ministry." — 2 Tim. iv. 5. 
" The people had a mind to work." — Neh. iv. 6. 



Nashville, Tenn. : 
53 CEDAR STREET. 

1882. 



^K 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, 

By T. C. BLAKE, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



The Library 
of Congress 

washington 



Printed for the Author by the 

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
NASHVILLE, TENN. 



The Ministry and Membership of the Church 



TO 

or our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 

"of whom the whole family in 

heaven and earth is named," 

this little volume is most 

respectfully and 

affectionately 

dedicated 

BY 

THE AUTHOE. 



PREFACE. 



The author feels, and has so felt for many years, that 
there is a place in religious literature for a small work 
setting forth, as briefly as possible, the requisite qualifi- 
cations and the mutual relations and obligations of the 
ministry and laity. Not one of the denominations of 
Christendom, so far as the writer is aware, has ever pub- 
lished a work covering the ground designed to be occu- 
pied by this little book; and feeling, as he does, that 
such a work is one of the great wants of the age, the 
author is encouraged to make the effort to meet the ne- 
cessity. 

As will be seen on a previous page, this unpretending 
little volume is dedicated to the ministry and member- 
ship of " the Church of our Lord • and Saviour Jesus 
Christ;" thereby embracing all Christendom. This is 
done, not to conceal from the reader the predilections of 
the. author for his own denomination — the Cumberland. 
Presbyterian Church — but because there is nothing in this 
book of a sectarian character — nothing to prevent so 
comprehensive a dedication. And, because of this fact, 
the author trusts and believes that hundreds and thou- 
sands outside of his Christian fold will read this book 
with interest and profit. 

- In presuming to counsel his brethren, more especially 
those in the ministry, no one not in a like situation can 
even imagine the embarrassment which the author feels. 
He is reluctant (and no one but himself knows how 



VI PREFACE. 

much so) to assume to give advice to his brethren con- 
cerning a profession, in the discharge of the duties of 
which he is compelled to acknowledge and deplore per- 
sonal shortcomings and inefficiency. So far as he is con- 
cerned, the author acknowledges himself to be "less 
than the least" of his brethren in ministerial fidelity; 
and instead of censuring he would prefer to kneel with 
the most inefficient of them at the Master's feet, and 
there, with them, confess unfaithfulness, and ask to be 
forgiven for the derelictions of the past. He is fully 
aware that his proper position, both in experience and 
efficiency, is greatly below many who are thus con- 
strained to listen to him ; and it would be a matter of 
the most painful regret if he were understood to claim 
any pretensions to a standard of zeal and efficiency 
above the most humble of his brethren. The author 
has not attempted in these pages to describe what he is, 
but what he ought to be ; nor has he overlooked that 
scriptural admonition, "Thou that teachest another, 
teachest thou not thyself?" 

As to the success of this important undertaking, an 
impartial public must decide. Should this little volume, 
however, add to the usefulness and efficiency of the 
ministry and laity of the Church of our common Lord 
and Master, then the highest purpose and ambition of 
the author, in this particular, will most certainly have 
been accomplished. 

T. C. BLAKE. 

Nashville, Tenn., 1882. 



EXPLANATORY NOTE. 



In preparing this little volume, I have 
availed myself of all the " helps " within my 
reach — have not only freely used the ideas of 
others, but often. their very words. The work 
is intended for all evangelical Christians ; and, 
whenever it was thought best to do so, I have 
not hesitated to appropriate any material 
which, in my judgment, would add to the 
interest and usefulness of the book. In brief, 
it is . the result not only of my own best 
thoughts on the points discussed, but likewise 
of the best gleanings which I have been able 
to obtain from others on these several topics. 
The only apology offered for writing it is 
an honest conviction that such a book as I 
have attempted to make is greatly needed. 
And, now < that the task is completed, the 
work is sent forth with the sincere desire and 
prayer that its usefulness may be commensu- 
rate with the field which it is designed to 

occupv. 

T. Q. B. 

(vii) 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAKT I.— THE MINISTRY. 

PAGE. 

I. The qualifications and duties which are es- 
sential TO A SUCCESSFUL MINISTER OF THE 
GOSPEL 12 

1. -He must be a converted man — a man of 

deep, undoubted piety 13 

2. He must have a Divine call to the work 21 

3. He must be a student — must qualify himself 

intellectually for his great work 34 

4. He must have a kind and fraternal spirit — 

must have no jealousy or ill-will toward 
his brethren in the ministry 45 

5. He must possess dignity of character — must 

be a Christian gentleman 55 

6. He must be a man of fervent, persevering 

prayer 62 

7. He must be a man of earnestness and zeal 69 

8. He should be a man of great firmness — a 

man of decision of character 75 

9. He must visit his flock — must "mix and 

mingle" with his^people 83 

10. He should be a man of great prudence 95 

11. He must indoctrinate his people 102 

(ix) 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

12. He must preach the gospel— nothing but 
the gospel 109 

13. He must be consecrated to his work 120 

PART II.— THE MEMBERSHIP. 

II. The qualifications and duties which aee es- 
sential TO AN EFFICIENT CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP... 132 

1. Regeneration, or the "new-birth" 132 

2. They must have the gospel — the means of 

grace 139 

3. They must attend the sanctuary 146 

4. They must be circumspect in their walk — 

must be consistent Christians 154 

5. They must live in peace and unity 164 

6. They must read the literature of the Church — 

must be well-informed as to doctrines, 
polity, etc 172 

7. They must scrupulously guard the good name 

and reputation of their minister 181 

8. They must be liberal in their contributions to 

the cause of religion 189 

9. They must be earnest and zealous in their 

lives 203 

10. They must pray for their minister, and must 

co-operate with him in Church-work 211 

11. They must cultivate household piety — family 

religion 218 

12. They must engage in Sabbath-school work — 

must labor for the conversion of the young.. 225 

13. They must support their minister pecuniarily 

— must enable those who "preach the gos- 
pel to live of the gospel" 234 

14. They must disseminate the religion which 

they profess— must have a missionary spirit.. 261 



THE PULPIT-THE PREACHER. 



THE 

PULPIT AND PEW 

OR 

Preacher and People. 



PART I.-THE MINISTRY. 



Man is a religious being. He will worship. It is 
just as natural for him to do so as it is for him to 
seek water to slake his thirst, or bread to satisfy 
his hunger. Whence this disposition to worship 
originates, can, we believe, be accounted for in 
one way only — God created him with that desire. 
It is not meant by this assertion that man has a 
natural desire to worship the true God, but 
that he will worship something. The history of 
the entire human race, so far as we know, con- 
firms the position assumed; for no nation or tribe, 
however degraded and ignorant, has ever been 
found which had not' a religion of some kind. 
That this is a fact no intelligent man will contro- 
vert or deny. The great infidel Hume said: 



12 *» PULPIT AND PEW 

"Look out for a people entirely void of religion; 
and if you find them at all, be assured that they 
are but a few degrees removed from the brutes." 
But neither Mr. Hume nor any one else ever 
found a people without a religion. 

In connection with the foregoing, another as- 
sertion may be made which is equally general 
and equally true : no nation or tribe has ever 
been found which had not its religious teachers. 
Every altar that has ever been erected has had 
its priest — a man who, as it were, stood between 
the object worshiped and the people worshiping. 
The truth is, no religion, not even the Christian, 
has ever been successfully and extensively propa- 
gated without such a class of men. Many, if not 
most, of the false religions have called to their 
aid the sword, the faggot, and the dungeon ; but 
these instruments of terror and of death simply 
overawed the people and held them in subjection 
until the teachers of their religions could, by 
their " incantations," inculcate their dogmas. 

Having made these preliminary remarks, we 
are now prepared to consider the following propo- 
sition : 

I — THE QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES WHICH ARE 
ESSENTIAL TO A SUCCESSFUL MINISTER OF THE 
GOSPEL. 

The great duty of the Christian ministry is to 
preach. It is made so by the terms of the Com- 
mission itself: " Go ye into all the world, and 



PULPIT AND PEW. 13 

. preach the gospel to every creature." But, as the 
sacred poet has well said, 

"'Tis not a cause of small import 
The pastor's care demands." 

To be a successful minister, therefore, there are 
certain qualifications which he must possess, and 
certain duties which he must perform. 

1. lie must be a converted man — a man of deep, 
undoubted piety. 

The Bible justly insists that a minister should 
be holy — in a peculiar sense a man of God — a 
man taught of G-od — a man consecrated to God, 
(See Titus i. 8 ; ii. 7 ; 2 Cor. vi. 4-6 ; 1 Tim. iv. 12.) 
Indeed, the work which he is called upon to per- 
form would clearly indicate the same thing. His 
is a ministry of reconciliation ; hence, he must be 
a friend of the parties which are at variance — 
God and man. A mere external reformation is 
not sufficient. The change demanded is a moral, 
universal, spiritual change ; a change of the prin- 
ciples, of the mind, of the heart, *of the conduct, 
and of the life, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
Without this " new birth " his ministrations 
would be as " a sounding brass or a tinkling 
cymbal." Yea, he would be in the predicament . 
of a blind man endeavoring to discourse upon the 
beauties of light, or of a deaf man laboring to 
make others understand the symphonies and 
harmonies of music. 



14 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Indeed, all religions, false as well as true, have 
required their sacred office to be filled with the 
best of human beings. " The first man," says the 
Yeda, or sacred book of the Brahmins, " after 
his creation, said to God, ' There will be on earth 
a variety of occupations, and every man will not 
be fit for all ; how, then, are men to be distin- 
guished?' God answered him saying, 'They who 
are the purest are always to be Brahmins, or min- 
isters of religion; let the rest be what they will.' " 
"He who exhorts men to repentance," says the 
Sadda, or sacred book of the Magi, "should be 
without sin. He should be of a kind temper, 
with a soul susceptible of friendship ; and his 
heart and his tongue should always agree. He is 
to keep himself from all debauchery, from all in- 
justice, and from all sin of every kind. He 
should be a pattern of goodness and justice to 
the people of God." In the Greek and Roman 
religions, in like manner, the last and great in- 
junction given to all who were initiated into the 
sacred mysteries, was, "Watch and abstain from 
all evil." The' speech which an ancient tragic 
poet puts in the mouth of one of these teachers 
should cause many a minister of the gospel of 
Jesus Christ to blush. "Since," says he, "I be- 
came a priest of Idean Jupiter, I have kept all 
my garments pure and spotless ; and I hold my- 
self above the ordinary converse and conduct of 
men." " First be trimmed thyself, and then adorn 
thy brother," say the Rabbins. "The hand," 



PULPIT AND PEW. 15 

said Gregory, of Nazianzum, " that purposes to 
make another clean must not itself be filthy." 
He also said, " The minister of the gospel must 
first be pure, and then purify others ; be taught 
himself, then teach others; become light, and 
then enlighten others ; draw near to G-od himself, 
and then induce others to approach him." 

The world, however, is full of counterfeits ■ 
and, unfortunately for the cause of our holy re- 
ligion, the Christian pulpit is not free from them. 
Simply because a man may be a minister, is by 
no means positive evidence that he is a converted 
man ; for, in every age of the Church, ungodly 
men have not only aspired to but actually en- 
tered the sacred office. The deepest wounds, too, 
which 'the religion of the Bible has ever received, 
or ever can receive, have been, and are, those in- 
flicted by unconverted ministers. How sadly, for 
instance, did the Jewish Church suffer when such 
characters as Hophni and Phinehas officiated at 
the altar! It was an unconverted minister that 
betrayed the Lord of Glory, and from that period 
down to the present, as ecclesiastical history 
proves, the Church has been compelled to mourn 
the fact that some of the "vilest of men have oc- 
casionally been found in the sacred profession." 
In addition to the appalling fact just announced, 
it is likewise true that even sincere men— men who 
thought that they were converted — have entered 
the ministry, and have Assayed to preach a salva- 
tion of which they were, at the time, experiment- 



1G PULPIT AND PEW. 

ally ignorant. As proof of this, read the Life of 
Wesley, of Chalmers, of McGready, and of scores 
of others, who had the candor and courage to 
confess the fact; but who, by a godly repentance, 
became deeply pious, and arose to the position of 
" sons of thunder " in the ministry. 

With these facts before us, it could not be con- 
sidered either extravagant or unkind to assert 
that there are now hundreds — yea, thousands — 
in the ministry, among the various denomina- 
tions of Christendom, who are not converted. 
Horrible thought ! Yet, with the Bible and eccle- 
siastical history in our hands, we must believe the 
fact, however revolting to our hearts. Because 
of this, the great Baxter, in his "Reformed 
Pastor," says : " Tak,e heed to yourselves lest you 
should be void of that saving grace of God which 
you offer to others, and be strangers to the effect- 
ual working of that gospel which you preach; 
and lest, while you proclaim the necessity of a 
Saviour to the world, your hearts should neglect 
him, and you should miss of an interest in him 
and his saving benefits. Take heed to yourselves, 
lest you perish while you call upon others to take 
heed of perishing, and lest you famish yourselves 
while you prepare their food. Though there be 
a promise of shining as stars to those that turn 
many to righteousness (Ban. xii. 3), this is but on 
supposition that they be first turned to it them- 
selves. Many a preacher is now in hell that hath 
an hundred times called upon his hearers to use 



PULPIT AND PEW, 17 

the utmost care and diligence to escape it. Can 
any reasonable man imagine that God should save 
men for offering salvation to others while they 
refused it themselves ; and for telling others 
those truths which they themselves neglected 
and abused? Many a tailor goes in rags that 
maketh costly clothes for others; and many a 
cook scarce licks his fingers when he hath dressed 
for others the most costly dishes. Believe it, 
brethren, God never saved any man for being a 
preacher, nor because he was an able preacher; 
but because he was a justified, sanctified man, 
and, consequently, faithful in his Master's work. 
Take heed, therefore, to yourselves first, that you 
be what you persuade others to be, and believe 
that which you persuade them daily to believe, 
and have heartily entertained that Christ and 
Spirit which you otter unto others. He that bade 
you love your neighbors as yourselves, did imply 
that you should love yourselves, and not hate and 
destroy both yourselves and them." 

The foregoing paragraph, with its solemn and 
weighty admonitions and warnings, should be in- 
delibly impressed upon the heart of every minis- 
ter of the gospel. Holiness is an indispensable 
prerequisite in a preacher's life. Without it his 
labor, as a spiritual guide, is lost. Like those on 
whom Moses pronounces a part of his curse, he 
sows, but shall not reap; he waters without see- 
ing the increase, His words, like arrows shot 
from a bow which has no elasticity, fall short of 



18 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the mark. The coldness of bis heart freezes the 
language of his lips ; and he cannot possibly 
kindle in the bosom of others that love to God 
and zeal for his service which have no existence 
in his own life. Unhappy the people to whom 
God may permit such a man to minister ! They 
can neither be aroused by his sermons nor guided 
by his example. Unhappy, too — yea, indescrib- 
ably miserable — the minister who becomes thus 
the tempter and destroyer of those whom he 
might be instrumental in saving ! His superior 
knowledge only serves to aggravate his condem- 
nation. He bears the torch, yet he himself knows 
not the way. Like the Scribes and Pharisees of 
old, he neither goes into heaven himself, nor 
suffers them that are entering to go in. Instead 
of being a star of Bethlehem to guide and lead 
his hearers to Jesus, he is a stone of stumbling 
over which they will plunge into the vortex of 
despair. Yea, such a minister is a greater curse 
to his flock than famine, pestilence, or sword. 

The great John Stoughton, in his treatise en- 
titled " The Preacher's Dignity and Duty," thus 
speaks upon the necessity of ministerial holiness 
of life: "If Uzzah must die but for touching the 
ark of God, and that to stay it when it was like 
to fall; if the men of Beth-shemesh for looking 
into it; if the very beasts that do but come 
near the holy mount be threatened; then what 
manner of persons ought they to be who shall be 
admitted to talk with God familiarly, to 'stand 



PULPIT AND PEW. 19 

before him/ as the angels do, and ' behold his face 
continually'; 'to bear the ark upon their ■ shoul- 
ders,' 'to bear his name before the Gentiles'; in a 
word, to be his ambassadors?" The melancholy 
history of the sons of Eli shows clearly that there 
is scarcely any punishment adequate to the 
crimes of ungodly ministers. Ajid if God thus 
punished the profaners of the blood of balls and 
goats, what will he do, rather what will he not do, 
to the profaners of the blood of his own Son? 

The proposition is therefore repeated with em- 
phasis, that a minister of the gospel must be a 
man of piety — of deep, undoubted piety. It is 
not enough that he should be equal, in this 
respect, to ordinary Christians. God and men, 
and with good reason, too, require that he should 
be a representative, a typical Christian. To him 
the people come to drink as to a spring ; hence, 
there should be in him an abounding spiritual 
fountain. His time and talents are consecrated 
to religion, and it is pre-eminently his business to 
be holy. And to excite him to this holiness of 
life he must look not to the world around him, 
but to angels and to God. He must look to the 
highest precepts of the gospel, and he must copy 
the High Priest of his profession. He must think 
how the apostles and other faithful preachers 
lived ; and he must think, too, how departed 
ministers would live i£ they were permitted to 
return and act their part again in the great 
drama of human life. Let the minister, then, 



20 PULPIT AND PEW. 

be an example to his nock and a guide to his 
people. The preacher and the man must be one. 
His heart must be a transcript of his sermons, 
then will be be a chosen vessel to preach Christ 
to a dying world. It is not reasonable to suppose 
that he can inspire a love for that holiness of life 
to which he is an utter stranger.. If he would 
ascend to the hill of the Lord, or dwell within 
his holy place, he must have clean hands and a 
pure heart. Like the brightness of Goshen 
amidst the obscurity of Egypt, his life must be 
" a shining light," to dispel the ignorance and 
darkness of this sin-cursed earth. In a word, his 
piety, like the virtue of Caesar's wife, must be 
above suspicion. Under the Old Dispensation, no 
person who had any blemish was to offer the 
oblations to the Lord. (See Lev. xxi. 17-20.) 
The priest was to have in his robes bells and 
pomegranates; the one a figure of sound doctrine, 
and the other of a fruitful life. (See Exod. xxviii. 
33, 34.) And in the sacred ministry the voice of . 
Jacob will do but little good if the hands be the 
hands of Esau. Merc orthodoxy will not save a 
minister of the gospel. He may go to perdition 
with a Confession of Faith or Discipline in each 
pocket. The forms of religion are only the scaf- 
folding for erecting the spiritual edifice. The 
reason given why " much people was added nnto 
the Lord" under the preaching of Barnabas, was 
that "he was a good man, and full of the Holy 
Ghost," (See Acts xi. 24.) The minister of the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 21 

gospel is unlike all other instructors. The latter 
simply teach art or science, without reference to 
moral character. The mechanic may teach his 
art thoroughly, but. he may be grossly immoral. 
The college professor may be an excellent in- 
structor, and still be a very bad man But the 
minister is necessarily blended with the truth 
which he teaches. In other words, he may ex- 
plain the doctrines of the Bible intellectually, but 
he cannot enforce them without a realization of 
them upon his own heart. 

2, He must have a Divine call to the work. 

Any man who is a Christian has a right to rec- 
ommend the grand scheme of redemption — the 
glorious plan of salvation through Christ. And 
more, he not only has the right, but it is his duty 
to do so as long as he lives. Indeed, this question 
goes beyond men, and even includes the whole of 
the other sex; for whether believers be male or 
female, they are all bound to exert themselves to 
their utmost to extend the knowledge of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. But while this is true, it is likewise 
a fact that the official preaching- of the gospel — 
"the teaching and bearing rule in the Church " — 
is confined, by the authority of God himself, to a 
certain definite class — to a set of men separated 
from every secular calling, and entitled to cast 
themselves for their temporal necessities upon the 
Church of Cod. (See Heb. v. 4; 1 Cor. ix. 11; 1 
Tim. v. 18.) 



22 PULPIT AND PEW. 

As proof positive of tlie necessity of a Divine 
call to the ministry we present the following brief 
summary : 

(a) Such a class is necessary to the propagation 
of religion. 

To say that the Christian religion could not 
have been propagated without the agency of a 
class of men devoted to that special service, would, 
no doubt, be stating the case too strongly; but to 
assert that the Triune God has ever adopted that 
method as the principal one for spreading abroad 
the religion of the Bible, would be to utter a truth 
which no intelligent person will call in question. 
Indeed, such a class of men has, in all ages of the 
world, been considered a necessity — yea, a want so 
deeply imbedded in the bosom of man that it was 
a part and parcel of his very nature. In all his * 
dealings with the human family, too, Grod has 
ever recognized this fact. Doubtless he might 
have instructed as well as converted Paul by a 
miracle; but it was his pleasure to direct him to 
a fellow-sinner for the exjDlicit revelation of his 
will. The angel also might have been an in- 
structor to Cornelius; but, for the purpose of 
maintainiug the order of the Divine economy, 
the ministry of the word (Peter) was made the 
medium of conveying evangelical light to his 
soul. He — some are ready to say, perhaps — might 
have employed the unfallen angels to do this 
work. But could he have done so in accordance 
with the high and holy principle of his govern- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 23 

merit? Could he (the question is asked with 
great reverence) have changed their location from 
"the bright world of bliss" to this " sin-cursed 
world" of ours? Or could he, in accordance with 
justice, require them to associate with the vile 
and debased? But admitting, for the sake of ar- 
gument, that this could have been done, would 
these angels have been the kind of ministry that 
man needed? They could not have entered into 
the sympathies of our fallen nature; nor could 
they have told, by experience, of the joys of par- 
doned sin, for the simple reason that they were 
strangers to such a feeling. Moreover, they could 
not exhibit themselves as an illustration of the 
power of the grace of God — could not show what 
grace could do with the vilest sinners. 

If the foregoing be true, the necessity for such 
a class of men is almost absolute. Such an order 
of men constitutes one of the essential elements 
of the social state. Society can no more exist 
without it than without some form of civil 
government. Men will not consent to occupy a 
place in associated communities without the rec- 
ognized dispensers of religious rites. Conscience 
demands them for the living and for the dead. 
Be it but necromancy, or some strange form of 
"black-art" conjuration, the mother demands 
them for her new-borfi babe, and the child de- 
mands them at the obsequies of its parent. Hu- 
man wisdom never erects her temples so high 
as to be above the tempest. A voice that is 



24 PULPIT AND PEW. 

oracular must speak to men in the day of their 
calamity, even though the oracle be unheeded in 
the elevation of their pride. A hand that is 
allied to what is unseen and unearthly is looked 
for to wipe away the tears from the face of sor- 
row, even though it be unsought amid the sun- 
shine of joy, In a word, man will not only have 
a religion, but religious teachers — if not a Mount 
Zion, an Olympus, a Valhalla, a Mecca — some 
system of theology or theogony, with temples, 
priests, and liturgies. 

(b) The sovereignty of God's government de- 
mands such a call. 

Ministers of the gospel are Heaven's ambassa- 
dors; and every one knows that the very essence 
of the ambassadorial office lies in the appoint- 
ment which is made by the sovereign represented. 
An ambassador unsent would not only be power- 
less, but he would be highly reprehensible. While, 
therefore, all earthly sovereigns claim the privi- 
lege of selecting those who are to represent them, 
is it not reasonable to suppose that the great 
Sovereign of the universe would reserve the same 
privilege to himself? Earthly rulers insist upon 
the exercise of such a prerogative in order that 
the integrity of their government may be pre- 
served ; but how much more important that the 
God of heaven (the heavenly Ruler) should de- 
mand the same prerogative? Is not his govern- 
ment infinitely more important than any, yea, 
than all, of the governments of earth? If earthly 



PULPIT AND PEW. 25 

sovereigns, then, cannot, and will not, risk any 
one who may voluntarily assume the office of am- 
bassador, how can we for a moment suppose that 
the purest and best Sovereign in the universe 
would permit such a thing? The Bible teaches 
us that the great Jehovah is a jealous God, and 
that justice and judgment are the habitations of 
his throne; hence he must, and will, have an 
agency in the selection of those whose conduct is 
not only to affect the party to whom they may go 
as ambassadors, but likewise the government 
which they represent. Men form their opinions 
of earthly governments from the character of the 
ambassadors whom they send forth; and does not 
an All-wise God know that they would do the 
same thing in reference to his government ? The 
truth is (speaking with reverence) God cannot 
afford to intrust the interests of his kingdom to 
self-appointed and self-constituted ambassadors. 
Such a thing would not only bring his govern- 
ment into disrepute, but would dethrone the great 
Euler himself! 

(c) Such a call is indispensable in order that 
the sacred office may be supplied with efficient 
men. 

The office of the gospel ministry is one of toil 
and sacrifice. Of all the professions and occupa- 
tions of men it is the least lucrative. No class of 
men on earth, when we take into consideration 
the intellectual endowments which they possess, 
and the amount of labor which they perform, re- 



26 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ceives such meager compensation. To be a suc- 
cessful preacher a man must turn his back upon 
all the avenues of wealth, and must be content 
upon a bare subsistence. The lawyer, the doctor, 
the merchant, the mechanic, the farmer, the 
banker, the tradesman may become vastly 
"wealthy by following their respective professions 
and lines of business; but the minister of the 
gospel, if he is faithful to his calling, has no such 
incentive. Many of them, and we weep as we 
write the sentence, have no home of their own — 
like their Divine Master, they can say, they " have 
not where to lay their heads," except it is fur- 
nished by others — by some kind family of 
Bethany! Like the camel of the desert, though 
they bear the precious burden, tbey feed upon 
shrubs ! 

These things being true, how, we ask, could 
competent men — men of intellect, and men of 
culture — be induced to enter a profession which 
promises so little, so far as this world is concerned? 
No one will doubt that the qualifications which 
are necessary to a successful ministry would in- 
sure wealth and honor in any of the other pro- 
fessions and avocations of life. Why, then, will 
men enter upon a calling which promises nothing, 
so far as this world is concerned, but arduous toil 
and a meager support? There is but one answer; 
" the love of God constrains them " ; and they feel 
like the great Apostle of the' Gentiles when he 
said, "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel." 



PULPIT AND PEW. 27 

Remove this "constraint" and this "woe," and 
how few would enter the ministry! 

(d) The Scriptures clearly teach the doctrine 
of a Divine call to the ministry. 

Under the Old Dispensation, intrusion into the 
priestly office was marked as the most dangerous 
presumption — yea, was most severely punished. 
(See Num. xviii. 7; 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-20.) The 
prophets, too, claimed to hold commissions from 
Jehovah. Isaiah tells us that one of the seraphim 
touched his lips with a live coal from off the altar, 
and the voice of the Lord said, "Whom shall I 
send, and who will go for us?" Then said the 
prophet, "Here am I; send me." (Isa. vi, 8.) 

Jeremiah thus speaks of his call: "Then the 
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before 
I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before 
thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified 
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the 
nations." (Jer. i.'4, 5.) 

Ezekiel, in speaking of his authority, says : 
"And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee 
unto the house of Israel, and speak my words 
unto them." (Ezek. iii. 4.) 

The same Divine authority was claimed by 
Daniel and all the other prophets. Not one of 
th'em dared to act as G-od's official messenger un- 
til he felt that he had been commissioned by the 
high court of heaven. Not one of them ran be- 
fore he had been specially visited by the Lord 
and qualified for his mission. "How shall they 



28 PULPIT AND PEW. 

preach except they be sent?" were words which 
as yet had not been uttered ; but their solemn im- 
port was well understood. In brief!, throughout 
the Old Testament Scriptures the fact is clearly 
and forcibly taught that God, in every instance, 
exercised his sovereignty in the selection ofindi- 
viduals to cany on his purposes of mercy toward 
a fallen world; whether patriarchs, priests, proph- 
ets, or judges. Eesides, we have the positive 
declarations of God himself upon this subject. 
Say3 he, " I will give you pastors according to 
mine heart." (Jer. iii. 15.) Again, "I will set 
up shepherds over them which shall feed them." 
(Jer. xxiii. 4.) Still further, "I have set watch- 
men upon thy walls, Jerusalem, which shall 
never hold their peace day nor night." (Isa. lxii. 
6.) And of those whom he had not called, he 
says, " I have not sent these prophets, yet they 
ran ; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophe- 
sied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and 
had caused my people to hear my words, then 
they should have turned them from their evil 
way, and from the evil of their doings. I sent 
them not, nor commanded them ; therefore they 
shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." 
(Jer. xxiii. 21, 22, 32.) 

Under the New Dispensation, the fact is re- 
iterated with emphasis that no one should dare 
usurp such unwarranted authority. Christ him- 
self appeared on earth with a delegated, not with 
a self-appointed, commission. Prophetically, he 



PULPIT AND PEW. 29 

had already declared his call to his great work. 
(See Isa. xlviii. 16; lxi. 1.) This call, too, was 
manifested to the world at the commencement, as 
well as during the entire course of his public 
ministry. (See Matt. iii. 16, 17; John xii. 28-30.) 
Time and again, too, did he appeal to this call as 
the proper — yea, as the only, credentials of his 
mission. (See John viii. 16, 42; v. 43.) He not 
only called each one of his apostles to the work 
of the ministry, but he denounced as "thieves 
and robbers" all who "entered into the fold" 
without his authority — emphatically declared 
that he only Who "entered in by the door" of his 
commission "was the shepherd of the sheep." 
(See John x. 12.) 

The truth is, the very names given to ministers 
in the New Testament imply a previous call to 
the work. Paul .says, " Now then we are ambassa- 
dors for God." But how can there be an ambas- 
sador without a previous appointment? If it is 
said that this is restricted to the apostles, we an- 
swer that the Epistle in which the language occurs 
is written not in the name of Paul only, but of 
Timothy also, and hence included other ministry 
besides the apostlcship. Moreover, in the First 
Epistle to the Corinthians we read : "Let a man 
so account of us (the us here meaning Paul and 
Sosthenes, 1 Cor. i. 1) as of the ministers of 
Christ, and stewards of /the mysteries of God." 
(1 Cor. iv. 1.) Surely no one will doubt that a 
steward must hold his office by appointment; a 



30 PULPIT AND PEW. 

self-constituted one would be a laughing-stock. 
Ministers are likewise called angels (Eev. ii. 1), 
and this word, as we all know, means messenger; 
but how can men be Christ's messengers unless 
by his choice or election. They are also called 
"servants," "chosen vessels," "shepherds," "over- 
seers," etc., which appellations are meaningless 
when the idea of choice is excluded. But Paul, 
speaking by the authority and inspiration of God, 
forever settles this question when he says, "!No 
man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that 
is called of God, as was Aaron." (Heb. v. 4.) In 
the passage just quoted, Paul, we admit, is speak- 
ing of the priestly office; but what is true, in this 
particular, of one is likewise true of the other. 

We will not venture the positive assertion that 
an uncalled minister never does any good. God 
may now, as he one time did, by way of miracle, 
bring a man to life by the bones of a dead 
prophet — may sometimes honor his own word so 
far as to make it effectual for salvation, even 
when it falls from the lips of an uncalled minister. 
The message of Elisha, though conveyed by 
Gehazi, cured the Syrian general; and similar 
results occurred in a few other cases. But such 
instruments may be compared to those Tyrians 
who assisted Solomon in building that temple in 
whose God they had no personal interest, and in 
whose blessings they had no share. This, how- 
ever, is not God's ordinary method of dealing 
with the human race. It is rather his "strange 



PULPIT AND TEW. 31 

work" as one has expressed it; for it is extremely 
seldom, taking the Bible as our guide, that the 
labors of uncommissioned men are ever owned 
by him, or attended with any success. In what 
other way is it possible to account for the vast 
difference in the success of ministers, except upon 
the idea that some are called of God and others are 
not? Why is it that some who are men of piety 
and of high culture never seem to have any suc- 
cess, while others, who are greatly their inferiors 
in natural endowments and in acquired gifts, have 
many "stars in their crowns of rejoicing"? 
There is, to our mind, but one answer: The for- 
mer have "run without being sent," while the 
latter are "shepherds of God's own choosing." 
Iso man, therefore, can claim the ministry as his 
right — as his inheritance — because his fathers 
and his ancestors, for generations past, have 
served the Church and their God in that capacity. 
2no learning, no morality, no profession, no zeal, 
no any thing, can supply the place of a Divine call. 
"We cannot conceive of God's giving a revelation 
of such vast import without at the same time 
definitely ordaining the best method of making 
it known. He would not leave this to loose, un- 
certain methods. Indeed, if no regular Divine 
agency had been apjoointed to publish the message 
of reconciliation between God and man, we would 
certainly feel that God is not in earnest in this, or 
that it is not a true revelation. If there is a mes- 
sage of peace from the higher government to a 



32 PULPIT AND PEW. 

rebellious race, there must also be a permanent 
embassy of peace, established in the foreign 
government of an alienated world. The Lord 
appoints his workmen ; and those who go in 
obedience to that appointment will be owned and 
honored of him. But the minister who is not 
thus sent, though he may be learned, eloquent, 
and popular, will not be blessed and honored of 
Heaven. The world may approve him, but in the 
"great day" he will hear the solemn words, "I 
•never knew you" as one of my ambassadors. 
Whatever else such a minister may have, he lacks 
the Divine call; and without this he cannot have 
the unction of the Holy One, the power of the 
Spirit of the Lord of Hosts 

To some the preaching of the gospel may seem 
to be a matter of individual choice — may suppose 
that the ministry of God's word is a trade to be 
learned, a profession to be chosen, an office to bo 
sought; but such persons "do greatly err, not 
knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God." 
Would it be "a light thing" for a man to repre- 
sent himself as an ambassador of a king who 
never commissioned him? Would it be a small 
matter in business for a man to claim to be the 
agent and representative of a person who had 
never given him authority or mentioned his 
name? Would it be a trivial circumstance for a 
man to transact business and make , treaties in 
behalf of some mighty potentate who had given 
him no authority for so doing? Shall it, then, be 



PULPIT AND PEW. 33 

deemed a small affair for a man to palm himself 
off as an authorized servant of the Lord Almighty 
without indorsement or recognition from on 
high? 

As to the evidences of this call, they can be very 
briefly given. The subject of it not only feels a 
deep anxiety for the salvation of sinners; but he 
likewise feels that there is a 'personal responsi- 
bility in the matter— a work for Mm to do ; which 
no one else can perform. True, his mind and 
heart may revolt, and in most instances they do, 
at the very thought of occupying so responsible 
a position as that of a minister of the gospel. 
He may, and, perhaps, always does, try to argue 
himself into the belief that the idea of his enter- 
ing upon the work of the ministry is perfectly 
preposterous — can assign a score of reasons why 
he should not undertake such a thing. Like 
Moses, he pleads, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, 
neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken to 
thy servant : but I am slow of speech, and of a 
slow tongue." (Ex. iv. 10.) A thousand times, 
too, he will say, as did that same man of God, " O 
my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him 
by whom thou wilt send." (Ex. iv. 13.) Yea, 
like Jonah, he may even attempt to "flee unto 
Tarshish from the presence of the Lord"; but, 
notwithstanding all his efforts to evade the re- 
sponsibility, there is a '"still, small voice" which 
whispers, " Go and preach the preaching that I 
bid thee." Indeed, so reluctant is a man who has 



34 PULPIT AND PEW. 

proper conceptions of the awful responsibility of 
such a work, and of his own imperfection — yea, 
nothingness in the sight of God — that he proposes 
every possible compromise with his Maker — will 
promise almost any thing and every thing, if God 
will release him. But no plan, no promise, no 
any thing which he may concoct for the purpose 
of evading his duty, will give his mind and heart 
any relief. Like the great Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles, he feels, "Woe is me if I preach not the 
gospel." And go where he may, and do what he 
may, that " woe" rests upon him until he consents 
to do the work which God has assigned him. In 
a word, no one whom God has called to the 
ministry can be a hapjyy man until he consents 
to do his duty. Nor need any one who is thus 
called, fear for one moment that God will remove 
all embarrassments out of the way. He does not 
demand impossibilities of his creatures; and just 
as surely as he calls a man to the ministry, just 
so surely will he enable that man to perform the 
work assigned him, provided the person called 
will consent to make the effort. The blessed 
Saviour said to his first ministers, and he says the 
same to each one now, "Lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world." (Matt, xxviii. 
20.) 

3. He must be a student — must qualify himself in- 
tellectually for his great work. 

The first ministers of the gospel were divinely 



PULPIT AND PEW. 35 

inspired, and, therefore, the necessity did not exist 
for acquiring knowledge by diligent application 
to study. But ever since Christianity has been 
fully established, the case has been otherwise; for 
God seldom or never works by miracle when 
ordinary means will serve. Now, therefore, close, 
persevering studj- must, to a considerable extent, 
do for the minister of this day what inspiration 
did for the apostles and their immediate suc- 
cessors. 

It w x as a saying of Demosthenes that " a man 
should be branded as the pest of society and the 
enemy of the Commonwealth who durst propose 
any thing in public which he had not first consid- 
ered well, and pondered in private." But how 
much more presumptuous is it for a minister of the 
gospel, in the great work of salvation, to appear 
before the Church, before angels, and. before God 
himself, to speak upon the dread mysteries of re- 
demption, without having secured beforehand the 
advantages which knowledge, study, and prepara- 
tion will give him? Like his great Master, the 
minister is " set for the rise or fall of many in 
Israel"; but, without proper qualification, he can 
never meet the high and holy obligations which 
are upon him. 

Paul's advice to Timothy was, " Study to show 
thyself approved unto God, a workman that need- 
eth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word 
of truth." (2 Tim. ii. 15.) ~No one, surely, who 
has a proper conception of the sacred office, can, 



36 PULPIT AND PEW. 

for a moment, doubt that the ministry of the 
nineteenth century should profit by that advice. 
Indeed, with the facilities which this age is now 
offering to the rising ministry for intellectual cult- 
ure, no probationer, who has proper respect for 
himself and for the cause of his Master, can afford 
to enter upon the sacred profession without the 
necessary literary qualifications. Men of piety 
can do good, even when destitute of the high in- 
tellectual culture upon which we are insisting; 
but the history of the Church proves that, as a 
general thing, they have never been able to lay 
broad foundations, nor to raise well-proportioned 
and firmly-jointed superstructures. It requires 
intellectual culture, and a high order of it too, to 
accomplish such work as Luther, Calvin, Wesley, 
McG-ready, etc., performed. 

But while we insist upon the broad and exten- 
sive culture which the present age demands, yet 
we would not be understood as taking the posi- 
tion that each and every minister should have the 
same amount of learning. In other words, we do 
not contend, nor do we believe, that there is a 
Divine warrant — "a thus saith the Lord" — for a 
definite and specific amount of human learning 
as an indispensable prerequisite — " a sine qua 
non" — to entering upon the sacred profession. 
Indeed, no one, we think, can so say with the 
Bible in his hands, and with the example of the 
blessed Saviour before him in selecting the first 
ministers under the gospel dispensation. True, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 37 

as we have said, they were divinely inspired; 
but that inspiration, no doubt, had special refer- 
ence to theological rather than to scientific truth. 

The history of the Church (we use the word 
Church in its broadest sense, meaning all ortho- 
dox Christendom) establishes the fact that some 
of the most powerful and successful ministers that 
ever have adorned, or that now adorn, the pulpit, 
never enjoyed the advantages of a thorough clas- 
sical and theological training. They entered the 
ministry "against principalities and powers," as 
a distinguished writer has aptly said, and fought 
their way to the highest positions. Language 
cannot do them the honor which they deserve. 
G-od bless them and give them successors! The 
lives of such men demonstrate the fact that a 
minister may be unable to read the "classics," 
and be wholly ignorant of the higher branches 
of mathematics, and still be, in the true sense of 
the term, an educated man — may know how to 
think — may be able to investigate closely and to 
reason logically — may be a fine English scholar, 
and a man of general and extensive reading — 
yea, may be much more efficient as a minister of 
Jesus Christ than scores of those who bear di- 
plomas from honored institutions. 

What Christianity needs is a ministry adapted 
to the culture of the age. Society, like a pyramid, 
has the largest amount of material at the base. 
It is also a fact which cannot be denied, that re- 
ligion, like flame, kindles in an upward direction. 



38 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Grades of society must be set on fire like layers 
of wood— at the bottom. The Jews were unphil- 
osophical when they asked, as a test question, 
"Have any of the rulers believed on him?" In- 
deed, to have attempted the conversion of the 
Israelitish nation through the reigning family of 
Herod and his nobles would have been as absurd 
as to have attempted to warm the waters of the 
Dead Sea by floating beacons upon its surface. 
If man had been called upon to select the minis- 
try for the Apostolic age, he would have chosen 
the profoundest scholars, the wisest philosophers, 
and the most eloquent orators; but Christ, know- 
ing the fact that religion develops upward, and 
not downward, went to the humble fishermen of 
Galilee. Hence, when the infidel Celsus said, 
"The Apostles were mean and illiterate persons — 
men of sorry manners and fishermen" the great 
Origen retorted, "Then it is evident that their 
power was from heaven, and their religion 
Divine." 

While, therefore, it is right and proper for the 
Church to demand that the ministry shall be men 
of high culture, yet we must not forget that there 
is some danger of going to too great an extreme. 
It would be a calamity if the entire ministry of 
Christendom were educated out of sympathy with 
the people. The poor and the illiterate, as well 
as the rich and educated, must have the gospel; 
and we all know how difficult it is to induce men 
of high culture to confine their ministrations to 



PULPIT AND PEW. 39 

the "highways and hedges." We know, too, that 
these same people are "more at home with," and 
have greater sympathy for, those who are not 
educated out of sympathy with them. The 
Church needs, and must have, many Pauls, hut 
we must not forget that it needs Peters too. 

Let no one for a moment helieve that we, by 
the position assumed, are inveighing against the 
highest possible culture in the pulpit, and are en- 
couraging the neglect of it in the sacred office. 
Nor is it to be understood that we, in any degree, 
favor intellectual indolence ; on the contrary, we 
boldly affirm that it is a shame and a disgrace for 
any man to enter the pulpit without "beaten oil." 
No man can succeed as a minister of the gospel 
without close, ardent, persevering study, nor is 
he to consider that he is a.t all meeting his re- 
sponsibilities, in this particular, unless he is equal 
to, if not in advance of, those to whom he minis- 
ters. He is a teacher, and unless he can comply 
with what that word implies, he cannot, as Paul 
did, "magnify his office." No minister can sus- 
tain himself who is not a student. He must be 
constantly accumulating fresh and invigorating 
thought, else he will soon exhaust the stock on 
hand. The people will not submit to dry and 
senseless platitudes ; nor will they, except under 
protest, pay for services! which they believe have 
cost neither time nor thought. The truth is, a 
preacher who will thus degrade his profession 
and dishonor his Master is a fraud, and deserves 



40 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ecclesiastical indictment, at least, for obtaining 
money under false pretenses. Services in the 
pulpit which, cost nothing in their preparation, 
are worth nothing; and the minister of Jesus 
Christ who attempts to get his living by them is 
a cheat, and is unworthy of the confidence of his 
flock. The sermons, rather the " harangues" 
which such a minister delivers amount to nothing. 
Like bullets, though they may have heads, they 
have no points. Robert Hall was once asked how 
many sermons a minister could prepare in a week. 
His answer was, "This depends upon his habits 
of thought and study. If they be first-rate in 
every respect, he might produce one by very hard 
work. If they be second-rate, he can make two 
with moderate ease. If they be tenth-rate, he can 
make any number!" 

The preacher, unlike the barrister or politician, 
addresses the same audience year after year. 
Hence, he must keep abreast of the age, if not in 
front of it. A distinguished writer says, "He 
(the minister) must circumnavigate the world of 
thought, but he must see to it that his first merid- 
ian passes through Calvary, and adjust all to that 
starting place." The prejudices against Cod's 
message are already so numerous that the minis- 
ter of the gospel should do nothing to justify or 
increase them; nor must he omit any thing tliat 
he can do to overcome them. The mass of the 
people now have the opportunity of a good edu- 
cation within their reach, and many have availed, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 41 

and will continue to avail, themselves of the ad- 
vantages afforded. All the important questions 
of the day, theological questions not excepted, 
are discussed in the literature to which the people 
have access; and the minister of the gospel, if he 
would be respected, must be so far abreast of the 
current of general thought as to be ''looked up 
to" as authority upon all these topics. If he is 
conspicuously deficient in intelligence, however 
devoted he may be to his legitimate avocation, he 
will, necessarily, "suffer loss." There is an inter- 
course with capable and intelligent men to which 
the minister of the gospel is called, by virtue of 
his office, and he must not, he cannot, afford to 
shrink from it. It would be an untold calamity 
for the cause of religion to have the impression 
go forth that uncultured men only filled the 
sacred office. On the contrary, nothing enhances 
the cause of Christianity more than to have its 
pulpits occupied by men of vigorous intellect, of 
profound scholarship), and of varied culture — by 
men who are fitted to rule by weight of character 
and by force of mind, while they constantly bow 
in the deepest humiliation before the Cross of 
Christ. 

There is a certain parable which is often told 
to children, but it contains a "moral" — a pro- 
found one, too — by whicih the sacred ministry may 
be greatly profited. It is this : A certain king 
instructed his son in the art of governing men. 
"The creat art of £>;overnin£>; " said he, "is to make 



42 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the people believe that the king knows more than 
his subjects." " But how," asked his son, " shall 
he make men believe this?" The king answered, 
" By knowing more." Ah, that is the secret. The 
only way for a minister of the gospel to be a 
"leader and guide" to his people is to "know 
more" than they know. John Wesley said to a 
minister who had neglected study, "Your talent 
in preaching does not increase; it is just the 
same that it was seven years ago. It is lively, 
but not deep; there is little variety; there is no 
compass of thought. Eeading and study only 
can supply this." 

Other things being equal, the prospects of a 
minister of the gospel for doing good depend 
upon the scope of his field — upon the "greatest 
many" to whom he can have access. Now, it re- 
quires no argument to prove that the most useful 
and influential class of society is composed of 
those who desire and appreciate a ministry of 
culture. Such, too, are the persons who mold 
and control public sentiment in the localities in 
which they live. Without the sympathy and co- 
operation of this class a minister can accomplish 
but little. He cannot, however, hope to have this 
sympathy and co-operation unless his culture is 
such as to command respect. 

The intellectual preparation, too, upon which 
we are insisting is the best for the minister even 
in a 'pecuniary point of view. The strong 
Churches — the Churches which are able to pay 



PULPIT AND PEW. 43 

respectable salaries — almost universally turn 
their backs upon those ministers who have failed 
to make themselves workmen that " need not to 
be ashamed." The consequence is, such preachers 
have no Churches to serve, except those which 
financially are unable to employ better ones. 
Who has not seen just such a state of things? 
How many ministers, to-day, are suffering almost 
absolute want who might have been very differ- 
ently situated if they had studied more and read 
more! But they have brought poverty upon 
themselves by failing to make better preparation 
for their work. In native intellect many of them 
are greatly superior to hundreds and thousands 
of those'who are occupying' strong and influential 
pulpits ; but they were unwilling to undergo the 
labors necessary to qualify them for such posi- 
tions. Just at the time in which they should 
have been engaged in study, they "married a 
wife," or "bought a yoke of oxen," or did some- 
thing else which blasted their prospects for exten- 
sive ministerial usefulness. Esau like, at a trying 
hour, they sold their " birth -right " ; and, like him, 
they could not, when it was too late, correct the 
evil, though they may have sought to do so "with 
tears." 

TVedo not mean, let it be remembered, by these 
urgent appeals in behalf of ministerial culture, 
that all ministers should be graduates from 
literary and theological institutions; for inas- 
much as God, no doubt, often calls men late in 



44 PULPIT AND PEW. 

life to the ministry, and men, too, of "many in- 
cumbrances," such extensive preparation is sim- 
ply impracticable in such cases. But we do mean, 
with the facilities which the different denomina- 
tions of Christendom are now affording their pro- 
bationers for the ministry, that many — yea, the 
great majority — of these probationers should avail 
themselves of the liberal and extensive advan- 
tages thus offered them, almost "without money 
and without price." What we urge, and what we 
insist upon, is that the ministry of this age shall 
at least be equal, in point of learning, to the most 
highly cultured of the people among whom they 
labor. Until this standard is reached, it is im- 
possible for the ministry to accomplish the good 
which it otherwise might do. 

The Sacred Scriptures, as we interpret them, 
perfectly accord with the sentiments which we 
have uttered upon this point. True, they forbid 
dependence upon mere human wisdom, yet 
"knowledge," "study," etc., are not only com- 
mended but required. "For the priest's lips 
should keep knowledge" (Mai. ii. 7.) " Study to 
show thyself approved unto G-od, a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth." (2 Tim. ii. 15.) Christianity, 
then, is not a religion of the senses or of forms, 
but of great moral and intellectual truths; and 
the best way for a minister of the gospel to ad- 
vance it is by "knowledge" and "study." It is a 
fact, too, which has not escaped the notice of the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 45 

attentive reader of the New Testament, that our 
blessed Saviour, lowly as was his home in Naza- 
reth, was never criticised by his most inveterate 
enemies for his lack of culture even as a man ; but, 
on the contrary, his knowledge of "letters" ex- 
cited the amazement of his hearers. (See John 
vii. 15.) 

In conclusion upon this topic, we feel authorized 
to say, and this declaration, too, as we believe, 
embraces the "sum total" of what the Bible and 
Church history teach, viz. : No talent is too great, 
no genius is too brilliant, no attainments are too 
ample, for the work of preaching the gospel; but, 
thanks be to our Heavenly Father, an average ca- 
pacity can be trained into such an instrument as 
the Holy Grhost will employ for the " work of the 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," 
and that, too, without a thorough classical and 
theological education, when, in the providence of 
God, surrounding circumstances preclude the 
practicability of such training. 

4. He mast have a kind and fraternal spirit — must 
have no jealousy or ill-will toward his brethren in the 
ministry. 

A minister of the gospel is not sent into the 
world to be a hermit, or a monk. A man who is 
to deal with the human family almost indiscrim- 
inately, must love them, land feel at home with 
them. A minister who has no geniality about 
him had better be a funeral undertaker, and bury 



46 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the dead, for he will never succeed with the living. 
A preacher, as one has said, "to be successful, 
should have a warm, capacious heart" — a heart 
like the great harbors which indent our coast, and 
which contain sea-room for a whole fleet. To 
such a man the people will go as sailors to a 
haven, and they will feel safe when they have 
anchored under the lee of his friendship. 

When the Queen of Sheba went to test the 
wisdom of Solomon, the Eabbins tell us that she 
carried some artificial flowers with her, beautifully 
wrought and delicately scented, so as to be fac- 
similes of real ones. The wise man directed his 
servants to open the window, and when the bees 
came in they flew at once to the natural flowers. 
Now, people have their instincts as well as bees; 
and, like them, they know what they need. It is 
an old, but true, saying that there are more flies 
caught with honey than with vinegar; and there 
will be more souls led to heaven by a man who 
has a kind and genial face than by one who has 
neither a gentle look nor a winning smile. The 
fact is, a minister is likely to get what he gives. 
People's hearts are like whispering galleries to him. 
If he speaks softly and kindly, just such words 
return to him; but if he scolds, he is sure to be 
scolded. Says Christ himself, "For with what 
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with 
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
again." (Matt. vii. 1.) 

Natural temper has much to do with a minister's 



PULPIT AND PEW. 47 

usefulness. God bestows a great gift upon a 
preacher when he gives him a sunny face and a 
genial, loving heart. It is a pleasure just to look 
at such ministers. We may differ with them on 
many things as far as the poles are asunder, yet 
we are none the less drawn toward and fascinated 
by them. But there are those in the ministry, we 
are sorry to say, who have not this genial nature. 
The very expressions of their countenances are 
forbidding; and their words, when they speak at 
all, are sarcastic and withering. They are carica- 
tures of religion. They forget that a man is not 
always good in proportion as he groans and 
frowns, and that one's Christian stature is not in 
proportion to the length of his face. There is un- 
told power for good or evil even in the tone of the 
voice. Words not only exert an influence upon 
those who hear them, by the manner in which 
they are uttered, but they reveal the character of 
those who use them. Socrates once said to a man, 
" Speak, that I may see you." The tones and the 
very " make-up " of the language reveal charac- 
ter — yea, show the inner man just, as completely 
as mirrors reveal the objects placed before 
them. 

Not only do we find these unholy tempers in- 
dulged in by some ministers toward the world, 
but toward each other. There are ministers — not 
a great many, thank God, — whose ambition is far 
in advance of their ability. They "love the 
uppermost seats" in the ecclesiastical " syna- 



48 PULPIT AND PEW. 

gogues" to which they belong; and, often, the 
method which they adopt for obtaining them is 
by trying to displace those who, by almost uni- 
versal consent, are worthy to occupy them. To 
accomplish their purposes they will sometimes 
condescend to things which would be disreputable 
to a fifth-rate politician. ]STo suitable opportunity 
is lost by them to "thrust the dagger," when by 
so doing they can reasonably hope to accomplish 
their ends, provided they see that there is no dan- 
ger of detection or exposure. Such men, of course, 
are moral cowards; hence, like all others "whose 
ways are dark and whose deeds are vile," they do 
nothing of this kind openly. But, 

"With eye of lynx, and ear of stag, 
And footfall like the snow," 

they "creep and. cringe" in their work of defa- 
mation. Such men, like Judas Iscariot, "betray 
with a kiss;" and they would, if they could, sell, 
for less than "thirty pieces of silver," any minis- 
terial brother whose popularity and position they 
envy. It is often the case that such characters 
run "quite a course" before they are found out; 
but sooner or later they are, by almost universal 
consent, consigned to their "proper place" in the 
denomination to which they belong. A mark as 
visible as that of Cain is upon them, and it is not 
a difficult matter to ascertain when one is in the 
presence of such characters. They know much, 
and can give the '-history" of every minister in 



PULPIT AND PEW. 49 

the Church who is at all in their "sunshine"; and 
they lose no good opportunity in doing so if they 
can get a listening audience. Whenever, there- 
fore, one is in the presence of a preacher who 
spends the "hours of social converse" in defam- 
ing his brother or brethren in the ministry, it 
should be considered an invariable sign that the 
spirit of a betrayer is present. Why such men 
should thus do is a mystery. By striving to make 
themselves "the greatest in the kingdom," they 
are attempting an utter impossibility. The frog 
in the fable conceived the idea that he ought to 
be as large as the ox, and in his efforts to " swell 
himself" up to such dimensions he "burst"! 
Now, the fatal mistake which the frog made was, 
he aspired to something for which God never in- 
tended him. If he had been content to fill the 
sphere for which he was created, such a terrible 
calamity would not have befallen him. So with 
the class of ministers of whom we are speaking. 
The error which they commit is, they strive for 
positions for which they were not created, and 
they ought to know that in so doing there is but 
one legitimate result — they will "burst"! 

Closely allied to the evil of which we have just 
been speaking there is another which is more 
general, and, if possible, more detestable. We 
allude to the habit which some ministers have 
formed of trying to secure the fields of labor 
which others occupy. There are various methods 
resorted to by these " disturbers of the peace of 
4 



50 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Zion" — these ecclesiastical moles — for the accom- 
plishment of their purposes. 

One is to "underbid" the present occupant. 
Such a minister will talk to the membership and 
endeavor to create the impression that the salary 
which they are paying their minister is not only 
large but oppressive. He then manages to get an 
opportunity of preaching a few times to that 
people, taking care to deliver his very best ser- 
mons; and, before leaving the neighborhood, he 
makes it known that his services might be secured, 
and for a very moderate salary, "provided the 
present incumbent were out of the way," and 
provided, also, that such an arrangement could be 
made "agreeable to all parties." As a general 
thing this is enough to accomplish the work. 
The severing wedge has been started, and those 
members who give the least in proportion to their 
ability, and who always feel it "burdensome" to 
pay the preacher, never lose an opportunity to 
strike that wedge — will pound it until it is driven 
to the head — until the cleavage is complete. 

Another method which is sometimes fallen upon 
by such a man is to arrange to have himself in- 
vited to assist, in a "protracted meeting," the 
minister whose position he covets. When the 
time arrives for the meeting to begin, such a man 
will take his "ecclesiastical portfolio," containing 
about a dozen sermons ("borrowed" ones, too, for 
such a man has no other kind that are worth 
much), and he 2oes to the "field of combat." Be- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 51 

ing before a strange audience — an audience whose 
ears are* itching to hear "something new" — he 
preaches not only under the excitement of a lis- 
tening congregation, but with the additional in- 
centive inspired by the hope of obtaining a larger 
and more luxuriant ecclesiastical pasture. During 
the meeting he makes it convenient to visit most 
of the members, assuring the resident preacher 
that, as he has his "hands full of other matters," 
he need not visit with him. Being thus safely 
ensconced, out of sight and out of hearing of the 
"preacher in charge," he, after having ingratiated 
himself into the confidence of those whom he 
visits, at once begins to apologize for the poor (?) 
preaching which he is doing, and assures them 
that he never could preach to a strange congrega- 
tion half as well as to his own people. Should 
the}"' intimate to him that his preaching is not 
only very acceptable but very good, he then, with 
a significant look, gives them to understand that 
if they could hear him constantly — Sabbath after 
Sabbath — they would have a better knowledge of 
his preaching ability. Having gone thus far, his 
next step is to criticise the resident preacher's 
method of conducting revivals — laments that the 
meeting is not doing better, and is very sorry 
that he does not feel at liberty to conduct it ac- 
cording to his plan. He next inquires in regard 
to the number and character of pastoral visits 
which "their" preacher makes — bow he conducts 
his prayer-meeting and his Sabbath-school — the 



52 PULPIT AND PEW. 

singing books he uses — his style of preaching, etc., 
etc.; and, after having condemned every thing, he 
intimates — -just does do so — that he sometimes thinks 
of changing his field of labor; though he has but 
little hope that his people would give him up. By 
the time he has done all this, he has reached the 
bottom of his " little portfolio " ; and he is obliged 
to leave — has a very sore throat, or has other en- 
gagements to meet. But he has sowed the seed, 
and they soon germinate. The congregation be- 
comes restless, intimates to their preacher that 
his resignation would be acceptable, and then calls 
the man who had come to assist (?) their former 
preacher ! 

"We have no disposition to attempt an extended 
comment upon such conduct as has been described. 
The truth is, some sins are so detestable to God 
and man, that it is difficult to find words to por- 
tray them. Those of which we have just been 
speaking certainly belong to that class. How 
unlike the spirit of Christ is such a disposition! 
Of all men on earth, ministers of the gospel, es- 
pecially those of the same Christian household, 
should be the most tender, and the most careful 
of each other's good name and reputation. They 
are not only fellow-laborers, but fellow-heirs to 
the same ecclesiastical inheritance. How wicked, 
therefore, to attempt to blast the usefulness of, or 
to wrong, in any manner, a brother minister! 
11 To his own Master he standeth orfalleth." 

All true ministers ure divinely called to the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 53 

same work — the same in every essential feature. 
Their hopes and fears, their trials and triumphs, 
are one. Why, then, should they hinder each 
other's work? Their sympathy for each other 
should "be holy, deep, and abiding. They should 
rejoice in each other's success, and lament each 
other's defeat. In their treatment one of another 
there should ever be felt and exhibited the truest 
kindness, the most generous concern, and the 
purest affection. No envy of a brother minister's 
talent, acquirements, or popularity should be for 
a moment indulged in. Never, without a most 
urgent reason, should they utter a disparaging 
word of each other. The gibe, the innuendo, the 
belittling word, should never be heard. The 
world should see that gospel ministers, at. least, 
" dwell together in unity." Such a heavenly 
spectacle would go far toward convincing the 
world of the divinity of Christianity. Then let 
all words of misrepresentation and detraction, 
and all undermining acts, forever cease. How 
will such things appear in the judgment day? 
How do they now grieve the Holy Spirit, work 
the defeat of the gospel, and ruin immortal souls! 
True, as has been said, there are not many such 
ministers; but surely one such is too many. And 
should any one think that the language which 
has been used is too strong, let the apology be 
that the evil under consideration is so offensive 
that it needs correction; and, in the opinion of 
the author, the best way to do so is by exposing 



54 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the sin in its Dative deformity. All the denomi- 
nations of Christendom have suffered more or less 
by such characters; and they feel an interest in 
having the evil made as odious to all good people 
as it is abhorrent to God himself. If, then, any 
minister who reads these pages feels that he has 
not been as careful in regard to the reputation or 
personal interests of his brethren as he should 
have been, let him resolve that, from this time 
forth, he will reform. It may be too late to re- 
pair the mischief which has already been done, but 
it is not too late to prevent the mischief which 
can be done. An envious, jealous spirit is a hate- 
ful thing anywhere; but it is especially out of 
place in the sacred ministry. 

As a sort of scholium [something added to what 
has gone before], as mathematicians would say, 
we might refer to those bitter personal animosities 
and dislikes which sometimes occur between min- 
isters belonging to the same Presbytery, Confer- 
ence, Association, etc. These often do great 
harm, and every effort should be made by the 
mutual friends of the parties to "nip them in the 
bud"; because, when permitted to exist for even 
a short time, they do untold mischief. Unless 
corrected at the outset, they become "putrefying 
sores," which are with difficulty "bound up," or 
"mollified with ointment." A distinguished law- 
yer, who was a devoted Christian, once said, "I 
would rather undertake to reconcile two irre- 
ligious men, who are at variance, than to try to 



PULPIT AND PEW. 55 

adjust a difficulty between two ministers of the 
gospel." The best way, therefore, is not to have 
these troubles. Nothing rejoices Satan more than 
to have these feuds exist; and nothing, scarcely, 
has a greater influence in postponing the day pre- 
dicted by the prophet when the " watchmen shall 
see eye to eye." Paul says, " If ye bite and devour 
one another, take heed that ye be not consumed 
one of another." (Gal. v. 15.) 

Let no one, however, misinterpret the meaning 
intended to be conveyed by what has been said. 
As a class, ministers of the gospel are the purest 
and best men on earth; and though there may be 
some, yea, quite a number, who are not what they 
should be — are not "ensamples to the flock," yet 
they constitute the exceptions — are, so to speak 7 
the excrescences which are formed from the 
wounds made by Satan upon the grand old minis- 
terial tree, on the boughs of which, in all ages of 
the world, have ever been found the richest 
clusters of that fruit " which is for the healing of 
the nations." 

5. He must possess dignity of character — must be 
a Christian gentleman. 

In insisting that a minister should be a gentle- 
man in his intercourse with the world, we do not 
wish to be understood as believing or saying that 
he is to be a man of that punctilious adjustment 
of dress, bows, smiles, etc., inculcated and enforced 
by Lord Chesterfield — far from it; for, as one has, 



56 PULPIT AND PEW. 

perhaps, correctly said, "Chesterfield inculcates 
the morals of a libertine and the manners of a 
dancing master." ]Nor do we at all have reference 
to those artificial manners which display constant 
effort and constraint — those manners which are 
formed on strictly worldly principles, and which 
qualify the possessor for a display in what is 
termed "fashionable life"; but to those, and those 
only, which intellectual culture and Christian 
purity demand, and which, where those graces 
reign, they will ever be found substantially to 
produce. By the ministerial dignity, upon which 
we are insisting, we mean that happy mixture of 
gravity and elevation in human deportment, 
which indicate a mind habitually thoughtful, 
serious, and set on high things — an air and man- 
ner opposed to unguarded levity, to all "slang 
phrases," and to disgusting buffoonery. The 
dignity, too, of which we speak, also requires its 
possessor to avoid those gatherings in which lan- 
guage is used and scenes are exhibited which 
should not even be countenanced by a minister 
of the gospel. When a preacher permits himself 
to be found at such places, though he may take no 
part in them, he necessarily compromises his 
Christian character, and brings reproach upon 
the cause of his Master. This dignity, too, pre- 
cludes the idea of loud, boisterous laughter — an 
unmistakable mark of low breeding. It also pre- 
cludes the idea of the relation of coarse, vulgar 
anecdotes. It pains us greatly to say that this is 



PULPIT AND PEW. 57 

ever done; but those who have mixed and mingled 
with the ministry know that it sometimes occurs. 
Not many, however, we are glad to say, are will- 
ing to put themselves on a level, in this particular, 
with the coarse, obscene, vile wretches who fre- 
quent drinking saloons and gambling dens. 

The great Dr. Miller, of Princeton College, lays 
it down as a rule that no minister should ever re- 
late an anecdote to even a company of his own 
profession, which he would not relate in a parlor 
of delicate, refined ladies. Upon this point, too, 
the Sacred Scriptures are outspoken and emphatic. 
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of 
your mouth." (Eph. iv. 29.) "Neither filthiness, 
nor foolish jesting, which are not convenient" 
[proper]. (Eph. v. 4.) " But now ye also put off 
all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy 
communication out of your mouth." (Col. iii. 8.) 

If, then, any preacher, old or young, has, in the 
past, so far forgotten himself and the dignity of 
his office as to have indulged in such ungentle- 
manly, unministerial, and "filthy communica- 
tions," let him at once get upon his knees, ask for 
forgiveness, and resolve, by the help of God, never 
to do such a thing again ! . Such anecdotes degrade 
a minister in his own estimation, and in the esti- 
mation of all decent people to whom he relates 
them. Is there a solitary example in the Bible to 
justify it? Did Christ, the greatest and holiest of 
all preachers, ever utter a word that even bordered 
on impurity ? It shocks one's feelings to even ask 



58 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the question. Of course, he was not an ascetic; 
for, as a man, he was gentle, social, companion- 
able. He mingled freely with the rich and poor, 
with Jew and Gentile; yet, to him life was real 
and earnest, and the part which he acted was no 
comedy. We read of his prayers and tears, but 
we have no record of his boisterous mirth and 
hilarity. This is not only true of the Teacher, 
but of the Book which he dictated for our guide. 
We may search the New Testament from begin- 
ning to end, and we will fail to find, in all its vast 
sweep of argument and exhortation, one single 
witticism, one single indelicate allusion or expres- 
sion. Such things come not from Christ nor the 
Bible, but from sinks of pollution and iniquity. 
Now, is not Christ the minister's example in the 
pulpit as well as out of it? 

The same is true of the prophets and apostles. 
Which of them ever committed such improprieties 
as those which we are condemning? Did Isaiah, 
did Jeremiah, did Paul, or Peter, or John ? Never, 
no never. They felt that their commission was a 
serious commission, and that the Bible is a serious 
book. They knew that God is serious, that heaven 
is serious, that hell is serious ; and how could 
they afford to put themselves upon a level with 
the vilest of the earth? 

Julian, the inveterate enemy of the Christian re- 
ligion, thought that he could supplant the true by 
the false, if he could induce his pagan priests to 
be exemplary in their "walk and conversation." 



PULPIT AND PEW. 59 

Hence, he issued the decree that " they should 
banish from them all low jests and libertine con- 
versations; that they should neither hear, nor 
read, nor think, nor utter any thing licentious or 
indecent." 

Dr. John Hall, in speaking of the gravity which 
belongs to the ministry, says: "Did you ever see 
a pilot take a ship through a perilous passage? 
He is grave. I have seen the surgeon's knife 
drawn round' the limb where an error of an inch 
would have been a terrible mistake. He was 
grave. I have heard a conscientious judge weigh 
and set out in the utmost fullness the evidence in 
a murder case, as earnestly bent on putting every 
thing fairly as if his own life depended on the 
issue. Any Jevity here would be out of place; 
and on the same principle, by the average of man- 
kind, gravity will be looked for in those who deal 
with matters of life and death, and speak for God. 
That ministers, like other people, have laughing 
muscles in the face is prima facie evidence that 
they are at liberty to laugh sometimes ; but they 
have a great many muscles that have no special 
relation to j)reaching." 

Closely allied to the evil of which we have just 
spoken, there is another which, though not quite 
so pernicious, is, nevertheless, to be strictly 
avoided, and heartily despised. We have refer- 
ence to the habit which some preachers have 
formed of extravagant speaking — of telling things 
which really are untrue. We once visited a 



60 PULPIT AND PEW. 

country church, and in conversation with an 
official member, asked, among other questions, who 
was his minister. He gave the name of the 
preacher; and in answer to the question, How is 
he succeeding in his work ? he said : "He is a very 
fair preacher; but it takes much of my time in 
endeavoring to 'explain' or 'mollify' the extrava- 
gant and unreasonable things which he relates 
every time he comes to fill an appointment." He 
then added, " We are getting very tired of him, 
for he is doing no good." Of course, such a min- 
ister can have but little influence for good 
wherever he is known; for the plain, common 
sense of the people, as well as the Bible itself, 
condemns and discountenances such a man. 

There are also some preachers who have con- 
tracted a similar habit in their pulpit efforts. 
These men, be it said to their discredit and to the 
disparagement of our holy religion, have such act- 
ive imaginations that they can repeat conversa- 
tions which never occurred, and relate incidents 
which never transpired! These men, too, are al- 
ways the "heroes" of all the events which they 
narrate, and the "victors" of every rencounter 
that occurs. To hear them talk, one would think 
that there are very few distinguished men in 
Christendom with whom they were not either 
personally acquainted, or from whom they had 
not received a number of letters. To a great ex- 
tent the sermons of such men are heavily inter- 
larded with these "incidents," "conversations," 



PULPIT AND PEW. 61 

etc., which scarcely no one believes ever had "a 
habitation and a name " ! It is by no means cred- 
itable to the sacred profession that it contains even 
a small number of such men. An unreasonable 
narrative — a manufactured incident — is reprehen- 
sible anywhere; but in the pulpit it is disgusting — ■ 
yea, grossly wicked. A minister should be the 
highest exponent of truth; and it is just as 
sinful — yea, more so — to tell an untruth in the 
pulpit as in the court-house. Not many, we are 
glad to say, have contracted a habit so disrepu- 
table ; and no good man, we feel certain, prays that 
those few shall have successors. 

The ministerial dignity and gentlemanly de- 
portment upon which we are insisting also have 
reference to dress. Some ministers, we feel sorry 
to say, are not as careful in this particular as they 
should be. The truth is, they seem to delight in 
being odd — out of style, sloven. A preacher's 
dress, whether he lives in the country, in the 
town, or in the city, should be plain, whole, neat, 
and clean. We do not mean that he should make 
his apparel an object of primary importance; but 
we do mean that he cannot afford to neglect it. 
A minister is a public man — must necessarily live 
in public — and he should dress, whenever he goes 
into society, just about as he would on the Sab- 
bath. He cannot afford (to be slovenly and filthy 
in his person — cannot afford to go into company 
with frail and soiled garments. No decent and 
cleanly household cares to entertain such a man ; 



62 PULPIT AND PEW. 

and such a character ought to be ashamed to im- 
pose himself upon well-bred people, either in the 
pulpit or in the family, Indeed, a minister's use- 
fulness, to a very great extent, depends upon his 
social habits — upon his ability to associate with 
good society. Remember, we do not say that a 
minister's clothes should be of the finest texture; 
but we. do say that they should be whole, neat, 
and clean, and that his deportment should be that 
of a quiet, high-toned, Christian gentleman. A 
minister has no more right to be rude, slovenly, 
or ill-bred, than any other gentleman. He may 
be ignorant of some of the conventionalities of 
society; but he will be respected, nevertheless, if 
he is a man of gentle and refined feeling. In a 
word, no preacher can afford to take liberties in 
regard to his deportment, his conversation, or his 
dress, simply because he is a preacher. 

6. He must be a man of fervent, persevering 
prayer. 

Prayer is the sacred duty of every Christian. It 
is essential to the very existence of religion. The 
sun cannot shine, and give no light; a fountain 
cannot spring up, and send forth no stream; nor 
can religion exist in the heart, and not produce a 
disposition to pray. 

But while the foregoing remarks are applicable 
to all Christians, they are, so to speak, pre-emi- 
nently so in reference to ministers of the gospel. 
Luther said, "Prayer, meditation, and temptation 



PULPIT AND PEW. 63 

make a minister." Ko one, who has ever realized 
the weight of ministerial responsibility, and who 
has been led to feel that his " sufficiency is of God," 
can for a single moment hesitate to admit the im- 
portance of one of the very first of these qualifi- 
cations. To a very great extent the Christian 
ministry is a work of faith; and that it maybe a 
work of faith it must be a work of prayer. 

It was once a custom among heathen nations, 
and perhaps it still exists among some of them, 
to make their rulers, who were also their priests, 
answer with their Lives if their people were visited 
with unfruitful seasons, or with other terrible 
calamities. They supposed that, if they had been 
men of prayer, and as intimate with the gods as 
the}- should have been, those disasters might have 
been averted. When we reflect that their gods 
did not have in their hands the issues of events, 
nor any power over the seasons, we are at once 
prepared to pronounce the custom a ridiculous 
and cruel one. But in respect to ministers of the 
gospel, the case is so very different that, though 
the practice may not be defensible, under the ad- 
ministration of any religion whatever, the senti- 
ment, it must be confessed, is much less absurd ; 
for it simply shows how natural it is for men to 
look, up to their priests as their intercessors with 
Heaven. 

If the prayers of a minister of the law, as in 
the case of Elijah, had the power to open or to 
shut the heavens, to procure drought or rain, 



64 PULPIT AND PEW. 

scarce or plentiful seasons, why may we not sup- 
pose that the prayers of a minister of the gospel 
might be even more prevalent with God? Hence, 
the assertion of a distinguished modern theologian 
that "a prayerless minister is chargeable with all 
the crimes which the prayers of a faithful pastor 
might prevent, and with all the evils which they 
might remove" is by no means as extravagant as 
one might at first think. 

The best and holiest men in the sacred office 
have ever made prayer the most important part 
of pulpit preparation. The biographer of Mc- 
Cheyne says of him, "Anxious to give his people 
on the Sabbath what had cost him somewhat, he 
never, except for an urgent reason, went before 
them without much previous meditation and 
prayer. Being asked his view of diligent prepa- 
ration for the pulpit, he referred to Exodus xxvii. 
20. 'Beaten oil — beaten oil for the lamps of the 
sanctuary.' And yet his prayerful n ess was greater 
still. Indeed, he could not neglect fellowship 
with God before entering the congregation He 
needed to be bathed in the love of God. With 
him the commencement of all labor consisted in 
the preparation of his own soul. The walls of 
his chamber were the witnesses of his prayerful- 
ness and of his tears, as well as of his cries." 

The secret of Luther's power lay in the same 
direction. Theodorus said of him : " I overheard 
him, in prayer; but great God, with what life and 
spirit did he pray! It was Vvith so much rever- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 65 

ence as if he were speaking to God, yet with so 
much confidence as if he were speaking to his 
friend." And Luther himself used to say, in 
some of his busiest seasons, "I have so much to 
do, that I cannot get on without three hours a-day 
of praying."' John Welsh sometimes spent seven 
or eight hours a-day in the closet. His wife, on 
one occasion, found him lying on the ground 
weeping and agonizing; and, on asking him the 
cause, he replied, "I have three thousand souls to 
take care of, and I do not know how many of 
them are prospering." Doddridge said, "So it is, 
though it may seem a riddle, that when I pray 
and meditate most, I work most." And Bishop 
Sanderson, speaking of prayer and study going 
hand in hand, says, " Omit either, and the other 
is lost labor. Prayer without study is presump- 
tion; and study without prayer is atheism." It 
is said of Alleine, "He poured out his very heart 
in prayer and preaching. His supplications and 
hfs exhortations were so affectionate, so full of 
holy zeal, life, and vigor, that they quite over- 
came his hearers." Yinet says, "Prayer is neces- 
sary to keep us [ministers] at the proper point of 
vision, which is always escaping from us, to heal 
the wounds of self-love and of feeling, to renew 
our courage, to anticipate the always threatened 
invasion of indolence, of levity, of dilatoriness, 
and spiritual and ecclesiastical pride, of pulpit 
vanity, of professional jealousy. Prayer resem- 
bles the air of certain isles of the ocean, the 
5 



66 PULPIT AND PEW. 

purity of which will allow no life to vermin. 
"With this atmosphere we should compass ourselves 
about as the diver surrounds himself with a bell 
before he descends into the sea." 

But, much as has been said and written upon 
this subject, no one has ever solved the true dy- 
namics of prayer so far as the ministry is con- 
cerned. It is the life and soul of the sacred office. 
Says Spurgeon, "Among all the formative in- 
fluences which go to make up a man honored of 
G-od in the ministry, I know of none more 
mighty than his own familiarity with the mercy- 
seat. All that a college course can do for a 
student is rough and external compared with the 
spiritual and delicate refinement obtained by 
communion with God. While the unformed min- 
ister is revolving upon the wheel of preparation, 
prayer is the tool of the great Potter by which 
he molds the vessel. All our libraries and studies 
are mere emptiness compared with our closets. 
We grow, we wax mighty, we prevail in private 
prayer." 

Upon the necessity and importance of this duty 
the Sacred Scriptures are outspoken and explicit. 
The blessed Saviour himself spent much of his 
time in secret prayer. "To him," as one has 
properly said, " every place was an altar, where 
he poured out the yearnings of his soul to the 
Father." The patriarchs and prophets were all 
men of prayer. So with the disciples. By direct 
command, they were to tarry in the city of Jeru- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 67 

salem until they were endued with power from on 
high, (See Luke xxiv. 49.) And while they were 
praying together, on the day of Pentecost, the 
Holy Spirit came upon them, and they thereby 
received a special preparation for their work. 

As it has been, as it is now, and will ever be, 
prayer is the most powerful lever which the mes- 
senger of G-od can employ. The closet is the best 
place to receive preparation for ministerial duties. 
Commentators are important assistants to the 
proper understanding of the Bible; but the Au- 
thor of that Book is infinitely better. How won- 
derfully were the "books opened" to Daniel when 
he was engaged in earnest supplication, and to 
David when he "inquired of the Lord"! What 
grand truths were unfolded to Peter when he 
was at prayer "upon the housetop"! The same 
is true now. It is said that Dr. Doddridge, when 
other helps failed to satisfy his mind in regard to 
the import of certain passages of Scripture, "used 
to consult a poor old woman living near him, and 
that he generally acquiesced in her conclusions." 
This he did because he had confidence that this 
noble old Christian obtained her interpretations 
from the Holy Spirit, in answer to prayer. 

In conclusion upon this point, the assertion is 
made (and without the fear of contradiction, too) 
that, in all the ages of the past, those ministers 
who have accomplished the greatest results — who 
have instrumentally saved the largest number of 
sinners, who have most deepened the faith of the 



68 PULPIT AND PEW. 

age, and who have done most for the advance- 
ment of Christ's kingdom in the world — have been 
those who, in a marked degree, were men of 
prayer — men "filled with the Holy Ghost." In 
confirmation of this, the following historical fact 
is related: At the open grave of John Evangelist 
Grossner, it was said of him, " He prayed up the 
walls of hospitals; he prayed mission stations 
into being, and missionaries into faith; he prayed 
open the hearts of the rich, and gold from the 
most distant lands." "As for his sermons, the 
power of his words," says a distinguished writer, 
"was evidently in the prayer which winged them 
with a resistless force to the hearts of his hearers; 
for prayer was the breath of his life." "Here I 
sit," he would say, "in my little room. I cannot 
go here and there to arrange and order every 
thing; and if I could, who knows if it would be 
well done? But the Lord is' there, who knows 
and can do every thing, and I give it all over to 
him, and beg him to direct it all, and order it 
after his holy will; and then my heart is light 
and joyful, and I believe and trust him that he 
will carry it nobly out." 

Many other incidents, of like prayer and like 
faith, might be mentioned, but it is unnecessary 
to do so. Suffice it to say, no man can succeed in 
the gospel ministry without prayer, and a great 
deal of it. JSTo wonder, therefore, that the apostles, 
though divinely inspired, should say, "We will 
give ourselves continually to prayer." "Would, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 69 

then, that the Holy Ghost might breathe upon the 
ministers of this day that "agonizing of soul" 
which would transform them into a band of 
wrestling Jacobs! Happy the congregations 
which have such ministers at their altars! 

7. He must be a man of earnestness and zeal. 

To enlighten the mind, and affect the heart, are 
the two main objects of the gospel ministry. The 
first requires wisdom; the second, fervency. Says 
the great Baxter, "Nothing is more reprehensible 
than a dead preacher speaking to dead sinners 
the living truth of God." It is not expected that 
all ministers should have great talents, extraor- 
dinary gifts, and profound scholarship; but it is 
both expected and required that they should have 
earnestness and zeal. Without these, no preacher 
can succeed; and to acquire these indispensable 
prerequisites, no study, no pains, no application 
should be spared. The minister who does not put 
his heart into his sermon will never put his ser- 
mon into the hearts of the people. Pompous elo- 
cution, theatrical disjriay, or affected emotions 
may please the fancy; but such hypocrisy can 
never reach the heart and reform the life. A 
painted fire may glare, but cannot warm. Preach- 
ing is not the work of the lungs, or the mimicry 
of gesture; but the spiritual energy of a mind and 
heart warmed and invigorated by the love of 
Christ. Says Doddridge, "While I have any rev- 
erence for Scripture, or any knowledge of human 



70 pulpit And pew. 

nature, I will never affect to speak of the glories 
of Christ, and of the eternal interests of man, as 
coldly as if I were reading a lecture on mathe- 
matics, or relating an experiment in natural •= 
philosophy." 

The ministry of this day may learn an impor- 
tant and impressive lesson from the reply of Gar- 
rick, the world-renowned actor. A preacher once 
asked him the question, "How is it that you, who 
deal in nothing but fiction, can so affect your au- 
dience as to throw them into tears, while I, who 
deliver the most awful and interesting truths, can 
scarcely produce any effect whatever?" The 
great tragedian answered, "Here lies the secret: 
You deliver your truths as if they were fictions; 
but I deliver my fictions as if they were truths." 
The fact is, all are orators when they feel what 
they say; nor can mere words, unaccompanied by 
feeling, touch and move the heart. When people 
go to hear the gospel, they want their emotional 
nature, as well as their understanding addressed. 

The mere, multiplying of men calling them- 
selves ministers of the gospel will avail but little — 
yea, nothing, without zeal. Such men are but 
"cumberers of the ground." Cecil asked, " What 
man on earth is so pernicious a drone as an idle 
minister? " And Fletcher truly said, " Lukewarm 
ministers make careless Christians." A distin- 
guished writer, in comparing Baxter and Orton, 
said, "Baxter would have set the world on fire 
while Orton was lighting a match." How true 



PULPIT AND PEW. 71 

the remark! Yet not true alone of. these two 
men; for they are simply representations of the 
two classes of preachers that have been in the 
Church of Christ in every age. The latter class, 
w r e are sorry to say, are far the more numerous : 
the Ortons may be counted by the hundreds ; the 
Baxters by tens. Two lines of his, with which 
we are all familiar, show what kind of a preacher 
Baxter was — 

" I'll preach as though I ne'er should preach again, 
And as a dying man to dying men." 

He had an earnestness of manner which swept 
every thing before it like a torrent. Dr. Bates, a 
contemporary, says of him, "His great mind 
could not stoop to the affected eloquence of words. 
He despised flashy oratory. But his expressions 
were so clear and powerful, so convincing to the 
understanding, so entering into the soul, so en- 
gaging the affections, that those were as deaf 
as an adder who were not charmed by so wise a 
charmer." With such zeal, with such earnestness, 
no wonder it became necessary to build five new 
galleries in his church at Kidderminster, in order 
to accommodate the vast crowds which attended his 
ministry. In London, the number which flocked 
to hear him was so large, that it was sometimes 
dangerous, and often impossible, to be one of his 
auditors. 

As Paul forcibly expresses it, "Necessity is laid 
upon" the minister. His business requires all 



72 PULPIT AND PEW. 

possible exertion. He is sent to enlighten the 
world, to save it from the curse of sin, to cast 
down the kingdom of Satan, and to build up the 
kingdom of Christ. He is sent to feed and guide 
the Church which God loved, for which Christ 
died, in which the Spirit resides, and to which 
angels look with the deepest interest. How, then, 
can he be lukewarm and indifferent? How ardent 
was the Saviour in his zeal for his Father's house! 
He continually "went about doing good," and 
embraced every opportunity in public, in private, 
in the ship, in the field, at the "feast" — every- 
where — to save sinners. And when Dr. Mason, on 
his return from Scotland, was interrogated as to 
Dr. Chalmers' great success as a preacher, he an- 
swered, "It is his blood- earnestness." 

Preaching is an easy work only to those who 
make it such, and those who make it such are 
loafers, and not laborers, in the Lord's vineyard. 
Careful preparation, and a soul all alive to the 
work, constitute the great wants of the pulpit, 
not only in this age, but in every other age. 
People cannot but feel that if religion is worth 
any thing, it is worth every thing; that if it calls 
for any measure of zeal, it will justify a high de- 
gree of it. The want of zeal and earnestness in 
the ministry, in other days, has made legions of 
infidels; and should not the ministry of the pres- 
ent century search their own hearts and see how 
much of the modern infidelity, which is now 
blighting the world, may be traced to similar in- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 73 

dolence and coldness?" "Bash preaching," said 
[Rowland Hill, "disgusts; timid preaching leaves 
poor souls fast asleep ; bold preaching is the only 
preaching that is owned of God." 

Spiritually, the world is dead, and the lifeless 
services of a lukewarm ministry can never "break 
the seal " of the sepulcher in which it lies buried. 
The yawn of the sluggard can never do that 
which requires the thrilling blast of the trumpet. 
The rustling of the leaf can never accomplish 
that which demands the roar of the thunder. It 
is not merely unsoundness in faith, therefore, nor 
open inconsistency of life, that hinders ministerial 
efficiency and ruins immortal souls. A preacher 
may be free from all offenses either in creed or 
conduct, and yet he may be, in a certain sense, an 
Achan in the camp, or a Jonah in the ship. In 
the language of another, "He may be freezing 
up or blasting life at the very time that he is 
speaking of the way of life. He may be repel- 
ling men from the cross when he is in words 
proclaiming that cross. He may be standing be- 
tween his flock and the blessing even when he is, 
in outward form, lifting up his hands to bless 
them. The same words that, from a warm heart, 
would drop as the rain, or distill as the dew, fall 
from his lips as the snow or hail, chilling all 
spiritual warmth, and blighting all spiritual life." 
In other words, if a private Christian who is luke- 
warm is rejected and cast out, like insipid water, 
which is neither "hot nor cold," what shall be- 



74 PULPIT AND PEW. 

come of that minister who is a loiterer in God's 
vineyard? St. Gregory said, "One damnation is 
not enough for a lifeless shepherd ; but for every 
soul that dies by his evil example, or pernicious 
carelessness, he deserves a new death, a new dam- 
nation." And God says, "But if the watchman 
see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, 
and the people be not warned; if the sword 
come, and take any person from among them, he 
is taken away in bis iniquity; but his blood will 
I require at the watchman's hand." (Ezek. 
xxxiii. 6.) 

Earnestness and zeal, therefore, are not only 
necessary to ministerial success, but to ministerial 
fidelity. That was a scathing criticism recently 
made upon the ministry of this age by a distin- 
guished Christian lawyer, when he said, "If one 
of my students did not exhibit more earnestness 
to gain a five-dollar suit, in the court of a justice 
of the peace, than many preachers do in warning 
a sinner to flee from hell, I would not permit him 
to remain under my tutorship." 

As a class, the zealous ministers are those who 
accomplish the greatest amount of good — are 
those who "turn the world upside down." True, 
there is some danger of going to extremes in this 
particular. Zeal needs, and must have, guiding 
and controlling, else, like the elephants on ancient 
battle-fields, it may sometimes do injury to its 
own side. Still, more ministers need a spur than 
a bridle. Look where we may, we will find that 



PULPIT AND PEW. 75 

where zealous ministers are located there the 
cause of Christ is most prosperous. They who 
are warm will warm others. They who are wide 
awake will awaken others. They come down 
upon men like Moses from the Mount. They 
shine as if they had been in the presence of Grod. 
They carry to and fro with them, as they walk up 
and down through the world, the savor of heaven 
itself. 

8. He should be a man of great firmness — a man 
of decision of character. 

By the authority of. Grod, the minister is the 
shepherd of his flock. He is their leader; and, to 
be successful in his work, he must be a bold and 
fearless man. The great Luther, when he com- 
menced his theses, said to the Pope, "I stand on 
this. And standing on this, I am stronger than 
you. I stand solitary, friendless; but on Grod's 
truth. You, with your tiaras, triple-hats, with 
your treasuries and armories, thunders spiritual 
and temporal, stand on the devil's lie, and are 
not strong." And a great writer once said, "An 
army of stags with a lion at the head, is more 
powerful than an army of lions with a stag at the 
head." 

"We do not mean that the preacher is to be a 
tyrant — far from it; for there is nothing more 
disgusting in the character of a gospel minister 
than a disposition to "lord it over God's heritage." 
Nor do we mean that he is to be a scolding, 



76 PULPIT AND PEW. 

abusive preacher; for such a minister rarely, if 
ever, does any good. He may use most bitter in- 
vectives ; but they hurt no one else half so badly 
as they do himself. They simply blister his own 
tongue. The chief effect which such a course has 
upon others is to cause them to be amazed that a 
servant of God can consent to permit himself to 
be the medium through which the spirit of Satan 
may vex and annoy the body of Christ. There 
are (it gives us pain to so say) some ministers who 
appear to think that it is their prerogative to thus 
tyrannize over their people. They, it would seem, 
have conceived the idea that, unless they do so, 
their authority would not be recognized; but 
there is scarcely any thing more degrading to the 
sacred profession, nor is there scarcely any thing 
with which a membership should be less tolerant. 
How disgusting to hear sharp, snappish, sarcastic 
remarks from the pulpit ! How cowardly, too, for 
a man to stigmatize others when he knows that 
they have no means of reply from the same ros- 
trum! Such an ill-tempered spirit comes not from 
Christ, but from the devil ; and no congregation 
should so far lose its self-respect as to permit it to 
be exhibited without Christian rebuke. An un- 
godly spirit in the pulpit will work the ruin of 
any minister, and it is right that it should do it. 
But the proposition is repeated, and with em- 
phasis, too, that a minister must be a man of great 
firmness — yea, a bold, fearless man. Like Paul 
he must at all times be ready to say to his flock, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 77 

"I have not shunned to declare unto you all the 
counsel of God." (Acts xx. 27.) Sin, no differ- 
ence by whom committed, must be rebuked. The 
pulpit is not the place for timid, mercenary men. 
It must be bold and outspoken. The trumpet of 
God, though it be only a "ram's horn," must give 
no uncertain blast, else the walls of Jericho will 
never fall. The vices and follies of the age must 
be rebuked; and, that this may be done success- 
fully, the pulpit must send forth against them 
arrows that are sharp and pungent. In doing this, 
there may be times when the preacher will feel as 
did the old prophet on Carmel, in the terrible con- 
test with the priests of Baal; but the God who 
then "answered by fire" and sustained his ambas- 
sador, will do so now, no difference what may be 
the opposing influences. 

The Scriptures represent the Church under the 
similitude of an army. The preacher is the com- 
mander of that division of it which is, in the 
providence of God, assigned to him; and his suc- 
cess depends greatly upon the boldness and ad- 
ministrative ability which he exhibits. True, in 
this army there are other officials — elders, class- 
leaders, deacons, etc. — but, the preacher is the 
"ranking" officer. The whole of his membership 
is under his control; and it is his duty not only 
to organize his forces, but to put every soldier in 
his proper place. As in a temporal so in a 
spiritual army, there are some whom it is diffi- 
cult to manage. Still, it must be done, and the 



78 PULPIT AND PEW. 

minister is the proper one to do it; but it should, 
by all means, be done in the spirit of Christ, 
and not in the spirit of Satan. Nathan said to 
David, " Thou art the man "; but he did not abuse 
and vilify him personally. The great point with 
the former was to show what a great sin the latter 
had committed. (See 2 Sam. xii. 4.) 

It is a fact which cannot be denied, that men 
have more respect for a bold, fearless minister — 
for a minister who is more afraid of God than of 
man. Illustrative of this position, we cite the 
case of Latimer with Henry VIII., King of Eng- 
land, When the latter had interdicted the free 
circulation of the Scriptures, the former wrote 
him a "plain-spoken letter," remonstrating with 
him for what he had done. The grand old 
preacher feared God more than he feared the 
king. "Latimer, Latimer," he exclaimed, at the 
beginning of one of his sermons, "Thou art going 
to speak before the high and mighty King Henry 
VIII., who is able, if he think fit, to take thy life 
away. Be careful what thou sayest. But Latimer, 
Latimer, remember also thou art about to speak 
before the 'King of kings, and Lord of lords.' 
Take heed that thou dost not displease him." 
True, his opposition to ungodly rulers, and to the 
"Man of Sin," whose pliant tools these rulers 
were, cost Latimer his life, for he was burned at 
the stake; but it will require the annals of this 
world and of the world to come to reveal the 
good which the fearlessness of Latimer accom- 



PULPIT AND PEW. TU 

.plisked. ^o wonder, therefore, that he could, as 
if inspired by prophetic vision, say to Eidley, 
who was his fellow-martyr, "Be not afraid of the 
flames, my brother; for we shall this day light 
such a candle in England as shall never be put 
out." 

An incident, it is said, occurred in this country 
a number of years ago which illustrates the same 
thing. At one period of his life General Andrew 
Jackson was passionately fond of horse-racing 
and cock-fighting — would not only attend the 
"race ground," and the "pit," but would wager 
large sums of money. A bold, fearless old minis- 
ter, who had a regular monthly appointment in 
the vicinity of the Hermitage (Jackson's home), 
announced that, on a certain Sabbath, he would 
preach a sermon on the corrupt and demoralizing 
influences of horse-racing and cock-fighting. 
When the day arrived, a large crowd gathered ; 
and among the number was Gen. Jackson. The 
officials of the Church, when they saw the distin- 
guished auditor in the congregation, went to the 
minister and pleaded with him to abandon his 
purpose — said to him, Gen. Jackson is not only a 
great man, but a dangerous man. The man of God, 
however, said, "I will not change my purpose. 
Gen. .Jackson knew of this appointment; and I 
take it for granted, by his presence, that he wishes 
to hear a sermon of the kind which I propose to 
preach. Still, whether this is so or not, I am not 
afraid of Gen. Jackson ; but I am afraid of God. 



80 PULPIT AND PEW. 

My commission is from Heaven, and that commis- . 
sion authorizes me to make war upon all sin, no 
difference by whom committed. Gen. Jackson 
has no more right to sin against God than has the 
humblest man in this community — nay, if any 
distinction is to be made, he has less right to do 
so, because of his great name and influence." 

The minister, "nothing daunted," therefore, 
preached the sermon ; and it is said that it was a 
severe one, too, against the sins to which refer- 
ence has been made. It is also said that Gen. 
Jackson was ODe of the most respectful and at- 
tentive listeners in that audience — sat quietly, 
and heard the whole of the discourse. That 
afternoon the minister went to the home of one 
of his humblest members for the purpose of sj)end- 
ing the night. Next morning, just about the time 
the preacher was preparing to leave, the family 
looked out and saw Gen. Jackson riding toward 
the cabin. The "man of the house" said to the 
minister, "Leave as quickly as possible; for the 
General, I fear, is coming to seek a difficulty with 
you." The preacher replied, "I will not leave; 
for I am not afraid of Gen. Jackson and the devil, 
when I have God and the Bible on my side." 
But, instead of seeking a difficulty with the min- 
ister, Gen. Jackson raised his hat, took the 
preacher by the hand, and said, "Sir, I had 
started to the city [Nashville], and learning that 
you were here, I came out of my way to thank 
you for that sermon on yesterday. You preached 



PULPIT AND PEW. 81 

the truth, and 1 trust that it will be of great serv- 
ice to me in all time to come." 

]STow, whether that sermon was the cause of the 
radical reformation which occurred soon after, we 
will not affirm ; but it is a fact of history that the 
change did take place; and it is also a fact of his- 
tory that Gen. Jackson became a Christian, and 
"died in the faith." jSTo wonder, therefore, that 
one having such profound respect for the Bible 
and the ministry, would, years after this incident 
occurred, when he was President of the United 
States, refuse to give a minister of the gospel an 
appointment, saying to the applicant, " Sir, you 
hold, already, a higher commission than I can 
give you — a commission from God himself — there- 
fore, go and fulfill boldly and fearlessly the duties 
of that commission." 

Let no one misunderstand what is meant by 
ministerial firmness. We do not, of course, mean 
that the preacher should be impudent and forward ; 
nor do we mean that he should use coarse and 
uncouth language in rebuking sin. On the con- 
trary, let him, while he fearlessly condemns that 
which is wrong, utter those words of rebuke in 
kindness and not in wrath. Like Paul, let him 
do so "weeping." (See Phil. iii. 18.) Sin cannot 
be rectified by sin. There is an old proverb 
which says, "If a father punishes his son for 
swearing, and swears himself while he punishes 
him, he does more harm by his example than he 
docs good by his correction." While, therefore, 
6 



82 PULPIT AND PEAV. 

the preacher endeavors to set things right, he 
must see to it that he does not set them wrong by 
an ungodly spirit. Those tears of Paul not only 
gave vehemence and force to his remonstrance, 
but sent that remonstrance to the hearts of those to 
whom he spake — yea, made it effectual because of 
the tenderness with which it was uttered. Much, 
therefore, depends upon the manner in which a min- 
ister reproves the sins and follies of his flock. There 
may arise cases when, like his Master, he may oc- 
casionally denounce " hypocrites" and "genera- 
tion of vipers"; but, like that same blessed 
Master, he should administer the most of his rep- 
rimands in words of kindness and clemency — "O 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem," etc., etc. 

To many ministers it is a sore trial to confront 
sins which are indulged in by the prominent 
members of their Churches ; but it should not be 
so. Sin is sin, no difference by whom committed; 
and that minister will be most respected who will 
show no "favor or affection" in this particular. 
It is better, infinitely better, to have a small 
Church, with a membership whose lives "adorn 
the gospel they profess," than to have a member- 
ship of five hundred, one half or more of whom 
are moral lepers who have never bathed in Be- 
thesda's waters, nor received a touch from the 
blessed Saviour's hand, accompanied with the 
words, "I will, be thou clean." True, such firm- 
ness as we are commending may cost a minister 
his place; but it would be better for it to cost him 



PULPIT AND PEW. 83 

his head, as it did John the Baptist, than for him, 
like Peter, to deny his Lord and Master. It is 
not always the most pleasant part of a physician's 
work to search into the causes of disease, but it 
must be done; and it is sometimes indispensably 
necessary to use both the probe and the knife. 

9. He must visit his flock — must " mix and 
mingle" with his people. 

It was a pithy saying of an old divine, that a 
preacher had three books to study — the Bible, 
himself, and the people One of our most gifted 
poets, too, has said, that "the proper study of 
mankind is man." If this latter assertion be. true 
in reference to the duty of mankind in general, 
how much more so is it in relation to the minister 
of the gospel? So to speak, human nature is the 
principal ingredient or staple upon which the 
preacher is to operate; and to do so successfully 
he must study it thoroughly, not from books 
alone, but from "original models" — the people. 
We scarcely need say, this can only be done by 
"mixing and mingling" with his flock. Indeed, 
to insure success in his work, a knowledge of the 
human heart is almost as necessary to a minister 
as that of the Sacred Scriptures. 

The duty upon which we are insisting was not 
only sanctioned, but sedulously performed by 
Christ himself. It is said of him that he "came 
not to be ministered unto, but to minister." He 
neglected no class or condition of society; and 



84 PULPIT AND PEW. 

we are not astonished, therefore, that the people 
heard him gladly." What a busy life he led! 
He traveled over the hills and valleys of Pales- 
tine on foot. He preached in the temple and in 
the synagogues ; on the mountain-side and by the 
sea-shore; to vast crowds and to single individ- 
uals. Indeed, one of the most powerful discourses 
he ever delivered was the one preached to the 
Samaritan woman, as he sat by Jacob's well. 

The apostles, likewise, did a vast amount of 
such work. It is recorded of Paul that he taught 
"from house to house," and that he "ceased not 
to warn every one night and day with tears." 
This great Apostle, together with all the others, 
seemed to recognize the fact that his 'public efforts 
might be almost a failure, unless they were accom- 
panied by private admonitions. Not only the 
apostles, and their successors for several centuries, 
gave special "heed to the flock," but the Christian 
ministry of every age has done the same thing. 
If we read the utterances made by those extraor- 
dinary men who produced the Be formation, we 
shall find their sentiments not only freely but em- 
phatically expressed upon this important subject. 
We have not the space to insert them, but they 
are as pronounced as language can make them. 

The necessity for this kind of ministerial labor 
can be expressed in the following brief summary : 

(a) Pastoral visitation is necessary in order 
that the minister may know the wants of his 
people. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 85 

Without such knowledge the best pulpit efforts 
will fail to have that directness which they should 
possess, in order that "each may have his por- 
tion." A physician must know the condition of 
his patients before he can prescribe for them. A 
teacher must understand fully the advancement 
of his pupils before he can be profitable to them 
as an instructor. The same is true in regard to 
the preacher. New Tear calls and visits of cere- 
mony are good as far as they go; but they do not 
go far enough. On such occasions people are re- 
served — are "on their manners "; and, therefore, 
these are not appropriate times and places for re- 
ligious conversation and spiritual improvement. 
Unless the minister visits his people at their own 
homes, what can he know of their peculiarities 
and wants? All shades of characters, and all 
stages of religious development, are compre- 
hended under one pastoral care; and how is the 
preacher to know these differences, and to admin- 
ister properly to them, unless, like his Master, he 
"searches them out"? In a word, he must pene- 
trate beneath an outside acquaintance with his 
people if he would learn of and administer to their 
real wants. 

(b) It is essential in order that he may gain the 
good-will and sympathy of his nock. 

Quintilian says, "The first requisite for an 
orator is to gain tke\good-will of his audience." 
For a minister to do this, there is no method equal 
to that of personal acquaintance. This, too, should 



86 PULPIT AND PEW. 

be so thorough that he can at all times recognize 
each one of them. The blessed Saviour says, 
"The good shepherd calleth his sheep by name." 
This shows that the minister is not to neglect any 
that are in the fold. Unfortunately, there is not 
only "a gulf fixed" between the capitalist and 
the laborer — between- the higher and lower 
classes — but it is an ever-widening and an ever- 
deepening gulf. ~No man on earth can do as 
much to change or modify the width and depth 
of this gulf as the minister of the gospel. The 
masses are disposed to identify him with the 
higher class of society. This class, they know, 
contributes the principal part of the preacher's 
salary, and has a controlling influence in procur- 
ing his services. The masses also recognize the 
fact that the minister's culture, deportment, dress, 
etc., qualify him for association with the more 
polished class of society; and, because of these 
things, they are prone to feel that he is not one of 
them. With proper care, however, these diffi- 
culties can all be removed. But the only way to 
remove them is for the minister to visit them, 
and prove to them by his words and deeds of 
kindness that he is their friend. He must walk 
side by side with them, sit down with them in 
their humble homes, and partake of their plain 
but wholesome food. He must let them feel the 
throbbings of a brother's heart; must take their 
hands in his ; and show a willingness to help them 
bear their burdens and sorrows. The minister 



PULPIT AND PEW. 87 

who acts thus will not only follow the teaching 
and example of Christ; but he will break down 
those prejudices which, unfortunately, are too 
often found existing between what are called the 
"upper and lower classes " — will have the pleasure 
of seeing, so far as religion is concerned, that " all 
are one in Christ Jesus," and that "the rich and 
poor meet together " in the house of G-od. Indeedj 
when the minister is seen only in the pulpit on 
Sabbath, he is still a stranger; but when he visits 
his people in their homes, and enters into their 
joys and sorrows — weeping with those that weep, 
and rejoicing with those that rejoice — then he is 
no longer a stranger, but is sincerely trusted and 
tenderly loved. Every one regards him as his 
personal friend, because he proves by his conduct 
that he seeks the good of all whom he visits. 

(c) This private visiting is necessary in order 
to see the effects of his public efforts. 

A good general, immediately after every battle ? 
surveys the field to see what has been done — to 
see who have escaped unhurt; how many have 
been struck; the character of the wounds; the 
attention they need, etc. A minister of the 
gospel should do the same thing — should survey 
his parish, and promptly administer the reme- 
dies which are needed. Truth from the pulpit 
may touch the hearty but unless private conver- 
sation presses that truth upon the hearer for his 
prompt action, a wind of temptation, a breath of 
worldly influence may counteract and destroy all 



88 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the good which was accomplished by the sermon. 
Too many ministers, though they preach with 
"the power and demonstration of the truth" on 
Sabbath, yet, during the coming week, they suffer 
the birds of the air to devour the seed sown, or 
the cares of the world to choke it, thereby utterly 
losing the effects of their pulpit services. 

The farmer does not sow the seed, and then 
give the field no further attention. If the crop 
is growing, he takes great delight in looking at 
it — will see to it that it is properly inclosed and 
protected — will give all necessary culture by re- 
moving noxious plants; and loves to think of 
harvest time. So with the faithful pastor, whose 
business it is to see to the growth of the spiritual 
work committed to his culture. 

The Saviour directed Peter to feed the "lambs" 
as well as the "sheep "; and that command is just 
as obligatory upon the minister of this day as it 
was at the time it was issued. The "good Shep- 
herd," when he was upon earth, exhibited a most 
tender regard for children; for "he took them in 
his arms and blessed them, and said, of such is 
the kingdom of heaven." It is a fact, too, which 
has not escaped observation, that the most success- 
ful ministers have been those who gave special 
attention to the "lambs of the flock." There is a 
reason for this: the aged arc bat few in any con- 
gregation; those in middle life are more numer- 
ous ; but the youth are the most numerous of any 
class. Indeed, the youth are the power "behind 



PULPIT AND PEW. 89 

the throne," not only in the State, but in the 
Church. Often — yea, generally — the nearest way 
to the hearts of parents is through their children. 
The remark of Themistocles is to the point. He 
said of his little son, " This child is greater than 
any man in Greece; for the Athenians command 
the Greeks, I command the Athenians, his mother 
commands me, and he commands his mother." 

(d) It will give to the minister many impor- 
tant thoughts which he can embody into his ser- 
mons. 

The masses may not be as highly cultivated as 
the preacher; but he will not fail to encounter 
many bold and vigorous minds — men and women 
of strong native intellect, who not only think for 
themselves, but think in original channels. The 
words which they utter may not always be " good 
English"; but the thoughts which they advance 
are gems — yea, unburnished gold. To the minis- 
ter these unpolished thoughts are what the crude 
block of marble is to the sculptor. All that is 
necessary in either case is for the " master work- 
man" to put his chisel upon the "rough ashlar," 
and dress it into shape. The fact is, great origi- 
nality of thought is often found in the humblest 
walk t s of life. The Spirit of. God, the best of all 
commentators, and the wisest of all interpreters 
of truth, dwells in the liovel as well as the palace. 
Much, then, may be learned without books. And, 
as we all know, living teachers are better than 
dead ones. There is. without doubt, a peculiar 



90 PULPIT AND PEW. 

magic in the voice of living wisdom. The blessed 
Bible expresses the thought in a single sentence, 
when it says, "Iron sharpeneth iron." 

On this point, however, a word of caution may 
not be out of place. As a general thing, it is the 
ideas and not the conversations which a minister 
may use. When he attempts to employ the latter 
there is danger of exaggeration — danger of per- 
verting the truth. And, as has been stated else- 
where in this little volume, there is scarcely any 
thing more injurious to ministerial character than 
for him to acquire the reputation of general want 
of candor; or of inaccuracy and looseness of 
statement; or of being a man who is prone to 
exaggerate. Such a course will, sooner or later, 
undermine and destroy the reputation of any 
minister. 

(e) Such visiting is of great advantage to the 
spiritual condition of both preacher and people. 

All of us, perhaps, have read the story of the 
traveler who, in crossing the AIjds, found a man 
almost buried in the snow. The traveler himself 
was very cold, and the first impulse was to "pass 
by" the sufferer; but, on the "sober second 
thought," he resolved, if possible, to relieve him. 
He, therefore, dismounted, and with all his might 
he began to rub the cold and almost frozen limbs 
of the sufferer, at the same time whispering words 
of encouragement in his ear. The result was, he 
not only restored the dying man, but warmed and 
invigorated his own cold and shivering frame by 



PULPIT AND PEW. 91 

the friction which he used in saving the perishing 
man — each benefited the other. 

It is just so in religions life. Christian contact 
never fails to do good. "None of us liveth to 
himself." The prophet Malachi, in his day, said, 
" They that feared the Lord spake often one to 
another." (Mai. iii. 16.) Infinite, almost, are the 
sorrows and necessities of the human heart; and 
in our doubts and troubles how we long for succor 
and encouragement from each other. There are 
times when a gentle look, or a kind word will 
lift a burden from the heart, and put sunshine into 
the soul for days and weeks — yea, perhaps for life ! 

Other arguments of a similar nature might be 
presented, showing the importance of pastoral 
visitation ; but we j)refer to introduce corrobora- 
tive testimony bearing upon this point. We have 
space for only a limited amount from the " great 
cloud of witnesses." Doddridge, in taking charge 
of a Church said, " I now resolve to take a more 
particular account of the souls committed to my 
care; to visit, as soon as possible, the whole con- 
gregation, to learn more particularly the circum- 
stances of them, their children and servants ; to 
make as exact a list as I can of those that I have 
reason to believe are unconverted, awakened, con- 
verted, fit for communion, or already in it; to 
visit and talk with my" people when I hear any 
thing in particular relating to their religious 
state; to be especially careful to visit the sick; to 
begin immediately with the inspection of those 



92 PULPIT AND PEW. 

under my own roof, that I may with the greater 
freedom urge other families to like care. O, my 
soul, thy account is great!" The biographer of 
Dr. Chalmers thus speaks of him: "Not satisfied 
with merely proclaiming the doctrines of the 
gospel from the pulpit on the Sabbath, not satis- 
fied even with putting into that presentation all 
the energy of his regal intellect, and the enthu- 
siasm of his affectionate heart, gathering about 
the truth all ornaments of scholarship, and im- 
pressing it by appeals most clear and pointed, as 
by arguments whose weight and pressure have 
rarely been surpassed — he labored also to carry 
it familiarly from house to house throughout the 
week. He interested himself personally and 
warmly in the families of his parish. He knew 
the children and the aged, as well as the active of 
middle life. He knew the circumstances, charac- 
teristics, and history of his people. And he was 
always ready with his word of counsel, his sug- 
gestive, practical, or doctrinal instruction, his free 
presentation of Christ, and his fitness for the soul. 
He aimed and desired to have his speech to dis- 
till as the dew, in the constant day-to-day inter- 
course of life. He meant to speak to his people 
through his example as well as through his words ; 
and whenever a case occurred of special difficulty, 
requiring peculiar tact and skill in its manage- 
ment, it was affecting to see with what earnestness 
of thought, with what fervor of prayer this noble 
and shining mind devoted itself to the work of 



PULPIT AND PEW. 93 

enlightening the ignorant, or of cheering the 
downcast, or of impressing and awakening the 
long impenitent." 

If we would see the effects of faithful pastoral 
work, we have only to read the Life of Baxter. 
Says Mr. Kyle, in speaking of this extraordinary 
man: "Another thing you must know, that Bax- 
ter was one of the most successful pastors of a 
parish and congregation that ever lived, When 
he came to Kidderminster he found it a dark, 
ignorant, immoral, irreligious place, containing, 
perhaps^ three thousand inhabitants. When he 
left it at the end of fourteen years he had com- 
pletely turned the parish upside down. 'The 
place before his coming,' says Dr. Bates, 'was like 
a piece of dry. and barren earth; but, by the 
blessing of Heaven upon his labor, the face of 
paradise appeared there. The bad were changed 
to good, and the good to better.' The number of 
his regular communicants averaged six hundred. 
'Of these,' Baxter tells us, 'there were not twelve 
of whom I had not good hope as to their sincerity.' 
The Lord's day was thoroughly reverenced and 
observed. It was said, 'you might have heard an 
hundred families singing psalms and repeating 
sermons as you passed through the streets.' 
When he came there there was about one family 
in a street which worshiped G-od at home. When 
he went away there were some streets in which 
ihere was not more than one family on a side that 
did not do it: and this was the case even with 



94 PULPIT AND PEW. 

inns and public-houses. Even of the irreligious 
families, there were very few which had not some 
converted relations. 'Some of the poor people 
became so well versed in theology that they un- 
derstood the whole body of divinity, and were 
able to judge difficult controversies. Some were 
so able in prayer that few ministers could match 
them in ardor, fullness, apt expressions, holy ora- 
tory, and fervor.' The grand instrument to which 
Baxter used to attribute this astounding success 
was his system of household visitation and reg- 
ular private conference with his parishioners. 
No doubt this did immense good, and the more so 
because it was a new thing in those days. Never- 
theless, there is no denying the fact that the most 
elaborate parochial machinery of modern times 
has never produced such effects as those you have 
just heard of at Kidderminster. And the true 
account of this I believe to be, that no parish has 
ever had such a wonderful mainspring in the 
middle of it as Baxter was. "While some divines 
were wrangling over the divine right of Episco- 
pacy and Presbytery, or splitting hairs about 
reprobation and free-will, Baxter was always 
visiting from house to house, and beseeching men, 
for Christ's sake, to be reconciled to G-od and flee 
from the wrath to come. While others were en- 
tangling themselves in politics, and burying their 
dead amid the potsherds of the earth, Baxter 
was living a crucified life, and daily preaching 
the gospel." 



PULPIT AND PEW. 95 

In conclusion, then, upon this topic, let every 
minister who reads these pages resolve that, by 
G-od's assistance, he will be more faithful in pas- 
toral visitation. The experience of the Church 
in all the past ages of its history demonstrates 
the fact that, other things being equal, that minis- 
ter accomplishes most who comes into closest 
j>ersonal contact with his people. ITo amount of 
organizing, no skill in forming and managing 
"committees'' is a substitute for this. The min- 
ister who would be like the Master must do as he 
did — touch the leper with his own hand; and if 
he would raise the dead to spiritual life, the tears 
must be in his own eyes. And, like his great 
Exemplar, let him be especially kind to the poor — 
go to the humble families of Bethany as well as 
to the palaces of the wealthy. As Paul expresses 
it, " Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all 
the flock, over the which the Holy G-host hath 
made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, 
which he hath purchased with his own blood." 
(Acts xx. 28.) 

10. He should be a man of great prudence. 

Prudence is a most important requisite of the 
sacred office. Without it, learning, eloquence, 
and even piety itself can accomplish but little. 
A minister not only comes in contact with all 
grades of society, but with all shades of public 
opinion. It is not by pulpit efforts alone that the 
preacher is to do good. Mankind are better 



96 PULPIT AND PEW. 

judges of conduct than of sermons — are better 
versed in the proprieties of life than in the 
science of theology. Hence, in those emblemat- 
ical representations which we have in the Sacred 
Scriptures of ministers of the gospel, we find 
much to interest and instruct us. With the face 
of the lion, of the eagle, and of the ox, in those 
symbolical figures, the face of a man is always 
conjoined. If the face of a lion denotes that the 
minister should have boldness and courage; if 
that of the ox, that he should have patience and 
fitness for labor; if that of the eagle, that he 
should have a clear and penetrating insight into 
the truths of the Bible; so the face of a man de- 
notes that he should be eminently endowed with 
prudence and sagacity. 

In the Levitical law, it was required that the 
sacrifice for the sin of a priest should be no less 
than was offered for all Israel, which, at that time, • 
consisted of millions of souls. (See Lev. ix. 3-14.) 
And who knows but God may exact for the sin 
of a minister a punishment, as he did a sacrifice, 
equal to what may be inflicted upon the whole 
congregation which that minister serves? 

Prudence is nearly equivalent to what is often 
alluded to in the New Testament as wisdom — 
" warning and teaching every man in all wis- 
dom" — and is a divine grace which^ if projDerly 
cultivated, always leads to wise speech as well as 
to discreet action. But it is often the case that 
ministers perpetrate improprieties which, though 



PULPIT AND PEW. 97 

apparently insignificant, greatly curtail their use- 
fulness. Public sentiment, in the main, is quite 
correct in its opinions in regard to what consti- 
tutes true ministerial decorum ; and the preacher 
who would dare transcend the boundary line 
drawn by this public sentiment, does so at his 
peril. Yet many — yea, too many — venture to 
cross the "metes and bounds" thus fixed. They 
may, perhaps, say they defy public sentiment in 
certain particulars; but that aggravates rather 
than palliates the offense; nor does it, in the least, 
change public sentiment. There are many things 
which "a man of the world" may do, and which 
even a layman may do, which would not be toler- 
ated in a minister of the gospel. 

One of the besetting sins to which some minis- 
ters are addicted is their indiscreet conversation. 
They seem to think that they are called upon to 
express their sentiments upon every subject, and 
to give their opinions freely in regard to every 
one. It is not astonishing that such men are so 
often called upon "to rise and explain," and it is 
not astonishing either that they are so often per- 
plexed in their efforts to " set things right." Min- 
isters of this kind, w T ho are thus almost always em- 
barrassing themselves, scarcely know what to do, 
nor by what method they can extricate themselves 
from the perilous condition in which they are 
placed, Like an ant on a piece of wood, both 
ends of which are on fire, they run "'to and fro," 
hoping by some means to be relieved from the 
7^ 



98 PULPIT AND PEW. 

dilemma in which their own imprudence has 
placed them. 

The preacher should remember that there are 
two Bides to almost every question; and it is a 
matter of vital importance (if he must take sides 
at all) that he shall be on the right side. Hence, 
he should always think, and think soberly and 
prayerfully, before he speaks. What a shame for 
a minister to allow himself to degenerate into a 
gossiper, a news-monger — to be the first to circu- 
late an evil report, and to give currency to un- 
founded statements — to forsake his Bible and his 
books, and convert himself into a sort of sewer- 
pipe, through which things "foul and filthy" are 
to circulate! Let others, if they must, be the. 
tale-bearers, the news-mongers, the retailers of 
slander; but let God's ambassadors avoid such 
things as they would a life of shame and a death 
of infamy. The truth is, a minister, however in- 
timate he may be with the families of his charge, 
should never pry into their private affairs and 
secrets. There is a littleness and meanness in 
such a course that will make any preacher con- 
temptible who will do such a thing. True, he is 
to "watch over his flock"; but he must always 
remember that he is not a police officer. He has 
enough to do to attend to his own affairs, in this 
particular, without meddling with the private 
affairs of others. Indeed, a prudent minister 
does not want to hear the secrets of his neighbors 
and of his flock. They are a troublesome com- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 99 

inodity to have in one's custody. They are 
among the ten thousand things of this ungodly 
world of which it is much more a blessing than a 
misfortune to be entirely ignorant. Protestantism 
neither knows nor tolerates the confessional. 

The ministerial prudence for which we are con- 
tending has reference, also, to the manner in 
which a preacher deports himself in his associa- 
tions with the other sex. If he is a gentleman he 
will be as pure and chaste in his feelings and con- 
duct in female society, in general, as he would be 
with his own mother and sisters. Not an im- 
proper expression should escape his lips; nor 
should he, under any circumstances, utter a word 
that would offend a lady of the most delicate sen- 
sibility. Some, we regret to say, are not as care- 
ful in this respect as they should be; but pre- 
sume simply because they are ministers. The 
credentials of a minister, however, grant no such 
liberty, and he has no right to cultivate and foster 
a familiarity in conversation and in deportment 
which is as disgusting to refined Christian society 
as it is disreputable to those who participate in it. 
Nothing improper, we grant, may be intended ; 
but such conduct always injures both parties in 
public estimation. Let those who indulge in 
such improper conduct remember that but few 
ladies, and still fewer ministers, can outlive a tale 
of slander, although it may be false. Indeed, 
nothing is more hurtful to the cause of religion 
than such ministerial lapses. The semi-infidelic 



100 PULPIT AND PEW. 

secular press rejoices at the opportunity of giving 
publicity to such declensions. The devil and his 
emissaries not only give circulation to the affair in 
the locality in which it occurred, but they send 
the news all over the land, even beyond the seas, 
on the "lightning's fiery wing." And nowhere 
will it be repeated without doing mischief to the 
cause of Christ. The consequence is, the minis- 
ter's influence for good is blasted for the remain- 
ing portion of his life; for, go where he may, the 
news of his downfall has preceded him. The 
deed is done; and, like the fabled shirt of Nessus, 
it "sticks" to the unfortunate man as long as he 
lives ! The only safeguard, in such matters, is to 
give no ground for suspicion. 

To the unmarried ministers — young men — we 
feel that these words of caution and admonition, 
in regard to the other sex, cannot be too strongly 
stated. Some, there may be, who delight to have 
quite a number of young ladies fascinated with 
them at the same time. Such an ambition is 
basely unworthy of the sacred profession; and 
the young minister who is dishonorable enough 
to trifle with a woman's heart is not too pure to 
destroy her virtue. He, of course, by the laws 
of God and man, has a perfect right to marry; 
but he has no right — Divine or human — to dally 
with a woman's affections. Indeed, nothing 
scarcely will blast a young preacher's reputation 
and usefulness more quickly or more effectually 
than for him to establish a reputation of indis- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 101 

creetness in this particular. Let no young min- 
ister, then, feel that it is either expected or desired 
that he must have a "love scrape" with every 
respectable young lady whom he may meet! 

How careful and prudent, then, must a minister 
be in his private life — in his daily associations ! 
He occupies a position where it is exceedingly 
difficult to stand, and unspeakably dangerous to 
fall. Hence, every step of his life and .every 
utterance of his lips should be guarded with the 
utmost circumspection. ~Not only in his public 
teaching but in his private life, he has great need 
of prudence. His office calls on him to watch 
over the spiritual interests of his people, to pre- 
serve or recover them from sin and error, to in- 
struct the ignorant, excite the negligent, confirm 
the weak, comfort the afflicted, satisfy the doubt- 
ing, encourage the desponding, and admonish the 
disorderly. It calls on him to accommodate him- 
self to every case, and to every capacity; so that, 
if possible, he may lead them to heaven. How 
trying are the ordeals through which he is to 
pass! His position is similar, in many respects, 
to that of Moses; and he must not be disappointed 
if his trials partake of the same nature. 

The blessed Saviour has set a perfect example 
of ministerial prudence. So careful was he in his 
intercourse with the world, that he made more 
converts by bis private conversations than by his 
public teachings, though he preached as never 
man preached. And those of his ministers who 



102 PULPIT AND PEW. 

imitate his example are the ones who accomplish 
the greatest amount of good. One of the Lord 
Chancellors of England said to a faithful minister 
whom he was prosecuting and persecuting, "Thou 
hast done more harm by thy private life and ex- 
hortations in prison than thou didst by thy 
preaching before thou wast cast into prison." 
On the contrary, that was a severe rebuke which 
a certain minister once received when a sinner 
said to him, "When I see you in the pulpit I 
think you ought never to leave it; but when I 
see you out of it, I think you ought never to 
enter it again." Of how many preachers may the 
same thing be said? 

Let, then, the prayer of every minister of the 
gospel be that of the Psalmist, " Set a watch, O 
Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my 
lips." (Ps. cxli. 3.) 

11. He must indoctrinate his people. 

All intelligent action is based upon principle. 
A deed performed, though right in the abstract, is 
destitute of virtue, so far as the individual is con- 
cerned, unless it is done with a conscientious con- 
viction of duty. The basis of duty is knowledge- 
doctrine. This principle holds good, not only in 
regard to morals, but also in reference to religion. 
Zeal which is not "according to knowledge," is 
not only untrustworthy and unreliable, but 
severely condemned by the word of God. Indeed, 
the religion of the Bible is nothing without its 



PULPIT AND PEW. 103 

truths; for by these alone is it distinguished from 
those false systems which have blighted and 
cursed a large portion of the human race. It is 
also a fact which cannot be controverted, that the 
convictions of a man constitute the measure of his 
activity and zeal, in any department of life. The 
man who has no fixed principles — no u pou sto" — ■ 
may attempt to use the lever, but he will never 
"lift' the earth from its poles." 

JS"o one should join a Church without under- 
standing its doctrines; and as the ministers of 
that Church are the recognized expounders of the 
system of theology taught and believed by that 
organization, they will be untrue to themselves, 
to their Church, and to their God, unless they set 
forth and defend the truth as they understand it. 
Books may formulate Creeds; but the services of 
the teacher are just as necessary in theology as in 
science. Nor is it at all more unreasonable or ab- 
surd to suppose that people generally will make 
scholars of themselves without the aid of an in- 
structor than it is to imagine that they will be- 
come theologians without such assistance. 

The tendency of the age, we arc free to admit, 
is to avoid doctrinal preaching; but it is surely a 
sad mistake. The idea is that such preaching is 
both objectionable and uninteresting. But this is 
not true. An intelligent people will never cen- 
sure a minister for preaching his honest convic- 
tions, provided he does so in the proper spirit. 
The mistake that is often made, is the manner in 



104 PULPIT AND PEW. 

which it is done. This thought is forcibly illus- 
trated by an infidel who went to hear a minister 
preach on Future Punishment. At the close of 
the sermon, some one asked him if he was 
offended. His answer was, "No indeed; a man 
who argues so fairly, and yet so forcibly, can 
never be offensive to an auditor. Though," 
continued the infidel, "he spoke with great plain- 
ness, yet his whole discourse was delivered with 
remarkable tenderness; for he strove to take men 
by the heart instead of hj the throat." Ah, that 
is the secret: it is the manner of the preacher, and 
not the message, which gives offense. 

As to the charge that doctrinal preaching is 
uninteresting to an audience, we simply say, such 
a sentiment does not accord with facts. Doctrinal 
preaching planted the Christian religion; doc- 
trinal preaching produced the day of Pentecost; 
doctrinal preaching made Felix tremble; doc- 
trinal preaching ushered in the "Reformation. In 
a word, doctrine — truth — lies at the basis of all 
intelligent public sentiment; and without it, no 
theory, no superstructure, physical, moral, or 
theological, can stand. 

But, lamentable to say, there is a strong ten- 
dency in this age, on the part of the ministry, to 
eschew doctrinal preaching. The only reason, 
perhaps, that can be given for this theological de- 
moralization and degeneracy is, that it requires a 
great deal less labor to prepare a hortatory than a 
doctrinal discourse. In other language, it is easier 



PULPIT AND PEW. 105 

to "speak words" than to frame arguments — 
easier to rant than to reason. But those who are 
opposed to doctrinal preaching seem to forget 
that all genuine religion is founded upon knowl- 
edge. It begins and ends with truth. Indeed, 
according to the Bible, truth is the *chief means 
by which the moral renovation of human nature 
is to be accomplished. Said the blessed Saviour, 
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth, shall 
make you free." And on a most solemn occasion, 
when interceding for his disciples, he prayed, 
" Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is 
truth " . Christianity is eminently distinguished 
from all other sj'stems of religion, because the 
affections it requires, and the virtues it inculcates, 
arise and are matured in connection with correct 
views of truth. The doctrine of the Scriptures 
is, that the legitimate tendency of moral and re- 
ligious truth is to produce virtuous affections and 
upright conduct, and that the natural tendency 
of error is the reverse. Hence, our Saviour 
taught that false teachers are to be distinguished 
from the true "by their fruits" — that is, by the 
effects of their doctrines upon their own moral 
character, and upon that of their followers. The 
fact is, we can no more have correct religious 
thinking and acting without theology than we can 
have correct measurement without mathematics. 
The victories of Christianity, wherever they have 
been won, have been achieved by distinct, 
sharply-cut doctrinal theology; by telling sinners 



106 PULPIT AND PEW. 

of Christ's vicarious sufferings; by teaching them 
justification by faith; by preaching the ruin of 
the race by Adam's trangression, and redemption 
through the blood of Christ, etc., etc. This is the 
only teaching which God has promised to own 
and bless. Indeed, Christianity without distinct 
doctrine is a powerless thing. It may be beauti- 
ful to some minds, but it is childless and barren. 
When the blessed Saviour appeared on earth, he 
found the Jews in deep moral degradation, be- 
cause they had forsaken the doctrines of the 
Bible, and had substituted in their stead forms 
and ceremonies — were very familiar with "tradi- 
tions," and were very exact in tithing " mint and 
cummin," but were utterly neglectful of "the 
weightier matters of the law." The surrounding 
nations were enveloped in the midnight darkness 
of a degrading polytheism, which the boasted 
learning of Grecian and Roman philosophers had 
signally failed to dispel. But, when Christ and 
his apostles proclaimed the doctrines of the Bible, 
what grand transformations took place! So it 
has been, and so it will be, in every age. No one 
can point to a village, or town, or city, or district, 
or country which has ever been evangelized with- 
out doctrine. In other words, doctrine is the 
frame-work of all genuine religion — is the skele- 
ton of truth, to be clothed and rounded out by 
the loving graces of a hoty life. 

We do not contend, nor do we believe, that the 
same prominence should be given to each and 



PULPIT AND PEW. 107 

every doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures. In the 
human body there are some parts which are vital; 
there are others which are not so much so. The 
same is true of the Bible; but it requires all of 
these parts to make that blessed Book. T$o civil 
engineer would be so unwise as to attempt to con- 
struct an impregnable fort without using strong 
materials ; and the minister (who is a theological 
builder) must exercise the same sound discretion. 
Churches thus planted will stand; for they are 
founded upon the solid rock, and not upon the 
drifting sand. Members thus indoctrinated, too, 
are the minister's strong supporters — are to him 
as Aaron and Hur were to Moses. It is, there- 
fore, a sad mistake to suppose that doctrinal 
preaching is not required in this age. Sound 
doctrine constitutes the base — the bed-rocks — of 
all theological systems that are worthy of being 
propagated or believed. The mightiest discourses 
that have shaken vast assemblies, and sent sin- 
ners trembling to the Cross of Christ, have been 
vitalized by doctrine. The preacher, then, who 
insists that the promises alone and not the doctrines 
of the Bible are to be preached in the nineteenth 
century, has simply reversed the natural and 
philosophical order of things; for the promises 
are founded upon — yea, grow out of— the doc- 
trines. The latter are the branches of the gospel 
tree, while the former are the blossoms. 

If, then, the ministers of this age would do good, 
if they would bring the kingdoms of this world 



108 PULPIT AND PEW. 

into subjection to Christ, they must fight with the 
old apostolic weapons, the doctrines of Christianity. 
The religion of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a 
religion of blind feeling or capricious impulse. 
It is a religion of truth, and sanctifies by the 
truth. Indeed, we can scarcely conceive of a 
gospel discourse which does not contain and en- 
force a Christian doctrine. Let, then, every minister 
of Christ receive kindly and obey implicitly the 
admonition of Paul, " Take heed unto thyself, and 
unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing 
this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that 
hear thee." (1 Tim. iv. 1G.) 

Of course, it is understood that, when we insist 
upon doctrinal preaching, we do not have refer- 
ence to polemical and controversial preaching — 
to those severe and bitter disputes which some- 
times occur between brethren of different denomi- 
nations. A minister can preach what he believes 
to be the truth without stopping to tell his au- 
dience that he is combating the " errors and 
heresies" of this or that denomination. Such a 
method, indeed, is generally productive of evil 
instead of good. To display bitterness in a place 
that should be radiant with Christian love, or to 
thrust out, in an ungodly spirit, "the horns of 
controversy," is not the way to induce others to 
think as does the preacher. The best way to cor- 
rect error is to preach the truth, and preach it in 
such a spirit, too, as will give no offense— preach 
as though no one else believed to the contrary. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 109 

The Saviour and his apostles did so, and surely a 
minister now is safe when he has such illustrious 
examples. This is the general rule. Cases may 
arise, we grant, in which duty demands some 
modification of this general principle; but the 
preach*er must be certain that they are exceptional 
and emergent before he will be safe in making 
such a departure. Hence, we repeat the senti- 
ment, and with emphasis, too, that the positive 
and able inculcation of truth is the best defense 
against error; and that the more completely im- 
personal and uncontroversial it is, the less likely 
is it to arouse those malevolent feelings which 
never fail to grieve the Holy Spirit. 

We conclude this topic Avith one brief, emphatic 
declaration which we would impress upon the 
heart of every minister of the gospel in Christen- 
dom; and that declaration is this: No doctrine, 
no Christianity; no doctrine, no evangelization. 

12. He must preach the gospel — nothing but the 
gospel. 

The blessed Saviour said, " Go ye into all the 
world and preach" — not science, not politics — but 
"the gospel to every creature." The preachers of 
this 'day have no other commission than that 
originally given to the disciples; and they not 
only disobey Christ, but disgrace the sacred office 
which they fill, whenever they attempt to enlarge 
the scope of that command. All political and 
scientific dissertations from the sacred desk, there- 



110 PULPIT AND PEW. 

fore, are as a "sounding brass and a tinkling 
cymbal." Nor is there any thing which will so 
completely emasculate the pulpit of its power, and 
demoralize the minister and his flock, as "another 
gospel" than the one which he is commissioned 
to preach. But, lamentable to say, there is a 
disposition on the part of many ministers in this 
age to preach almost every thing else except Christ 
and him crucified. The reason assigned for so 
doing is that it is an age of progress — an age of 
scientific thought and investigation — a practical 
age, and that the people are tired of the " old, old 
story," and demand something new. Never was 
there a greater mistake, nor a greater perversion 
of the truth. The fact is, the newest thing in this 
world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

It is true the world has made progress in 
science, literature, and art; but it has never out- 
grown the necessity for the gospel. It is to-day, 
as it was in the time of Paul, "the power of God 
and the wisdom of God "; nor is there any thing in 
the vast range of human thought that can sup- 
plant it. The preacher, therefore, who would dare 
put this gospel in the rear of any thing, will find 
himself in the predicament of the disciples when 
they attempted to row their vessel over the surg- 
ing waves of Galilee with Christ in the "hinder 
part of the ship." They found that the only way 
to save themselves and the vessel was to bring 
Christ to "the front"; and it is a great pity that 
all the ministers of this a^e cannot be induced to 



PULPIT AND PEW. Ill 

exercise the same sound discretion. Human nature 
is the same now that it always was — " the heart de- 
ceitful above all things aud desperately wicked " — 
and it requires precisely the same remedy to cor- 
rect the evil now that it did in the patriarchal, 
prophetic, or apostolic times. "Ye must be 
born again" is as true to-day as it was when the 
Saviour addressed Nicodemus; and the only in- 
strumentality known to the world as a basis for 
that new birth is "the Gospel of Christ." It is 
the "Sword of the Spirit;" and that sword to-day, 
when properly wielded, is just as keen a blade as 
when it struck down Saul of Tarsus, or pierced 
the hearts of the three thousand on the day of 
Pentecost. When, therefore, it fails to do its 
work, it is not because it is dull and rusty, but 
because the hand in which it is placed does not 
properly wield it. With that sword, unlettered 
fishermen cut their way through every opposing 
obstacle; and with that same sword Paul and 
Silas, though strongly manacled, made the Phil- 
ippian jailor tremble. With it, too, Luther and 
his coadjutors triumphed over the Pof>e and the 
devil, and ushered in the Eeformation. In a 
word, with it, bright and burnishing, a minister 
of Jesus Christ is "the strongman armed"; with- 
' out it, he is as powerless as a child. 

Then, let it not be said that a preacher in this 
age must, in order to meet its demands, preach 
science, politics — "another gospel." Nothing 
could inveigle the Saviour into politics, though 



112 PULPIT AND PEW. 

every possible effort was made to do so. All tliat 
they could extort from him, in this particular, 
was, "My kingdom is not of this world." And 
so thoroughly imbued was he with the greatness 
and grandeur of his mission that he never once 
said a word about science, as we use the term. 
His sermons and parables were marvels of won- 
der; but he never preached a single "scientific 
discourse" — never preached on chemistry, astron- 
omy, anatomy, natural laws, protoplasms, and 
evolution. Paul, too, though he had as much 
learning as any man then living, scorned the 
thought of preaching in the "enticing words of 
man's wisdom." Why is it, then, that so many 
preachers of the present time will disregard the 
example of Christ and his inspired apostles? 
Why leave the inexhaustible store-house of the 
Bible, where "there is plenty and to spare," and 
feed uj)on the dry "husks" which scientists and 
infidels place before them? Have these preachers 
exhausted the gospel, that they must go elsewhere 
for material? If so, they are greatly in advance 
of Paul, for he found it to be unfathomable. 
Hear him as he exclaims, " O the depth of the 
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God!" 

Remember, we are not inveighing against science, 
etc., in the abstract. On the contrary, we say let 
the minister possess all the information and learn- 
ing possible — yea, let him go to the most profound 
depths of human wisdom; and the more the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 113 

better. But we do say, and we say it with em- 
phasis, too, that "the gospel of Christ," and not 
"another gospel" is to be his theme in the pulpit. 
Human learning is to his mind simply what food 
is to the soldier — is to give him the ability to 
wield that sword. But, be it remembered, it is 
as separate and distinct from that sword as the 
physical strength of the soldier is from the 
weapon which he is to employ. The truth is, all 
who have the proper appreciation of what true 
gospel-preaching is, greatly prefer to hear a plain, 
scriptural, soul-stirring sermon to any and all 
other themes that can be presented from the pul- 
pit. They go to the sanctuary to be told their 
duty — to be made better men and better women — ■ 
to worship God, and not to be worried about "op- 
positions of science." The kind of preaching 
which we are condemning may please the intellect; 
but preaching which feeds the head and starves 
the heart is a solemn farce. % The pulpit is not the 
place for the review of books, for dissertations on 
science, politics, etc.; but for the preaching of 
u Jesus and the resurrection," and that which 
pertains to the salvation of the soul. If the min- 
ister must exhibit his knowledge of scientific sub- 
jects, let him use the press; but for his own sake, 
and for the sake of the cause which he represents, 
let him not annoy the people with them from the 
pulpit. Besides, it is a fact which should not be 
overlooked, that the class of men against whom 
he is inveighing when he is preaching upon science, 
8 



114 PULPIT AND PEW. 

evolution, etc. ; rarely, if ever, go to church ; he 
is, therefore, preaching to an abse?it congregation ! 

A minister, by such a course, imagines, no 
doubt, that he has a broader field; for he can then, 
as he thinks, "switch off" from the old road-bed 
of the gospel to the "side-tracks" of "popular 
themes." He should not forget, however, that 
such side-tracks of our holy religion are like 
many of those on our railroads — they go from, 
but do not return to, the main thoroughfare; and 
the only way to get into proper position to ad- 
vance is to "reverse the engine" and "back." A 
preacher need not "rack his brain" for novelties — 
for outside issues. The freshest, newest, most 
rousing, most thrilling thing in this world is the 
story of the cross. His material, therefore, is 
furnished him by infinite wisdom; and all that 
he has to do is to go to that inexhaustible mine 
for his supplies. In that mine the old prophets 
"searched diligently,'" and the holy angels have 
desired "to look into" the same. So with the in- 
spired apostles ; but no created intellect was ever 
able to measure " the breadth, and length, and 
depth, and height" of that grand store-house of 
truth. Instead, therefore, of needing new themes, 
the minister of to-day will find an exhaustless 
variety in God's treasure-house; and he will find, 
also, that time is too short for the most gigantic 
intellect to unfold and display the mysteries of re- 
demption. 

There are but two ways of harmonizing the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 115 

gospel and a fallen race. One is to conform men's 
beliefs, affections, and lives to the gospel; and the 
other is to conform the gospel to the lives of men. 
The former is the conversion of men to Christian- 
ity; the latter is the perversion of Christianity to 
men. Ministers who preach "another gospel" 
are guilty of this . perversion. The effect of such 
preaching, whether so intended or not, is to so 
lower the standard of discipleship that the 
worldly may not find it a very arduous or bur- 
densome thing to make an outward profession of 
Christianity. But such preaching is simply a 
compromise with sin and Satan. It is bridging 
the trenches, tearing down the fortifications, and 
inviting the enemy to enter. It is raising the 
flag of truce, spiking the heavy artillery, and con- 
verting the "warfare" of Jesus Christ into a 
spectacular show of sham battles or dress-parades. 
It is placing the "sword of the Spirit" in the 
scabbard, and cutting off "the right arm" of the 
minister's power. It is building on the sand in- 
stead of upon the solid rock. It is setting up 
landmarks of snow instead of the inrperiskable 
granite. 

The true minister needs no other themes than 
those which the Bible furnishes ; and it is an un- 
pardonable folly to attempt, by "another gospel," 
to cure 'the cancer of the human soul. "The 
gospel of Christ" teaches either truth or false- 
hood. If that gospel be a "cunningly devised 
fable," then let the preacher "close the book," and 



116 PULPIT AND PEW. 

surrender the pulpit. But it is not a fable; and 
however great may be the strides of civilization, 
of discovery, of invention, of human learning, 
yet none of these, nor all of them, can supersede 
the Book of books. Steam-ships and railway-cars 
differ greatly from the conveyances which they 
have displaced, but the passengers who travel in 
them have undergone no corresponding change. 
The human heart is still corrupt, and "the carnal 
mind is enmity against God, not subject to his 
law, neither indeed can be"; except by the 
remedy prepared by God himself. A sermon, 
then, which is not based upon the gospel, is a 
mockery and a sham; and the minister who de- 
livers such a discourse and calls it a sermon, is 
an impostor. Christ commissions his ministers 
to "go into all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature"; and if they preach any thing 
else, then, as honest men, they ought to surrender 
the commission to the hand from which it was 
received. And, whether so meant or not, they do 
surrender that commission whenever they go out- 
side of that Book for the themes of their dis- 
courses. Every thing else is "another gospel" — 
yea, the napkin in which they wrap the sacred 
treasure which they bury. 

A preacher is the ambassador of God ; and he 
cannot be a faithful one if he delivers any other 
message than that which his commission author- 
izes. Why, then, will he forsake the "munition 
of rocks," and take refuge behind the drifting 



PULPIT AND PEW. 117 

sand? Why will he leave the "green pastures" 
of God's word, and go to the Saharan deserts of 
this world? Among all the grand discoveries of 
man nothing has ever been found as a substitute 
for the gospel. When the blessed Saviour ex- 
pired on the Cross, he said, "It is finished" 
Hence, we do not need a newly-incarnated God 
for every age, together with a new crucifixion 
and atonement. If not, then the one satisfaction 
for sin made by Christ was and is made for every 
age; and the one gospel which Paul, in his day, 
said was "the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth,"must be the same in all 
generations. If, therefore, ministers would heal 
the maladies of the soul, they must use the remedy 
ordained of God — the gospel. Moral essays, 
scientific discussions, etc., etc., delivered with a 
great "flourish of trumpets," in beautifully 
rounded sentences, and in good Johnsonian 
English, may pass for sermons "so called," but 
they will never force the sinner to cry out, 
"What must I do to be saved?" Like blank car- 
tridges, they may make a noise, but they do no 
execution. But is there not much of this kind of 
preaching in this "our day" — preaching which is 
nothing except bald platitudes, timid statements, 
and k elaborately concocted milk and water — 
preaching which, instead of " dividing the joints 
and marrow," is nothing but a leaden sword, 
without point or edge ? 

The spiritual man, like the physical, cannot be 



118 PULPIT AND PEW. 

developed and* strengthened without the right 
kind of food. Syllabubs and sweetmeats, though 
pleasant to the taste, will not make bone and 
sinew; bread, pure and unadulterated, is indis- 
pensable — bread just as God has made it. The 
same is true in reference to man's spiritual nature. 
It needs bread, plain, uncontaminated, life-sus- 
taining bread; and the gospel tells just where 
that bread can be obtained — indeed, is that bread 
itself. (See John vi. 35.) And, no doubt, the 
principal reason why there are so many spiritual 
dyspeptics in the Church is, that many preachers 
have so sugar-coated that bread as to make it per- 
nicious to health. In other words, when longing, 
hungering, famishing souls asked their minister 
for bread, he gave them a stone; and when they 
asked for a fish, he gave them a serpent. (See 
Luke xi. 11.) 

Dr. Hodge says: "This [the Bible] is sharper 
than any two-edged sword. It is the wis- 
dom of God and the power of God. It has a 
self-evidencing light. It commends itself to 
reason and conscience. It has the power not 
only of truth, but of Divine truth. In opposition 
to all error, to all false philosophy, to all the 
sophistries of vice, to all the suggestions of the 
devil, the sole, simple, and efficient answer is the 
Word of God. This puts to flight all the powers 
of darkness. The Christian finds this to be true 
in his individual experience. It is also the ex- 
perience of the Church collectively. All her 



PULPIT AND PEW. 119 

triumphs over sin and error have been effected 
by the Word of God. So long as she uses this, 
and relies on it alone, she goes on conquering; 
but when any thing else — be it reason, science, 
tradition, or the commandments of men — -is al- 
lowed to take its place, or to share its office, then 
the Church or the Christian is at the mercy of 
the adversary." John Brown, of Haddington, 
declared: "So far as I ever observed God's deal- 
ings with my soul, the nights of preachers some- 
times entertained me; but it was Scripture ex- 
pressions which did penetrate my heart, and that 
in a way peculiar to themselves." Said Carnock: 
"No man is renewed by phrases and fancies; 
these are only as the oil to make the nails of the 
sanctuary drive in the easier. "Words there must 
be to make things intelligible; but the seminal 
virtue lies not in the husk and skin, but in the 
kernel. The rest dies, but the substance of the 
seed lives and brings forth fruit. The word does 
not work as it is elegant, but as it is Divine — as 
it is a word of truth. Illustrations are but the 
ornament of the temple; the glory of it is in the 
ark and mercy-seat. It is not the engraving upon 
the sword that cuts, but the edge ; nor the key, as 
it is gilt, that opens, but as fitted to the wards. 
It is the juice of the meat, and not the garnish- 
ing of the dish, that nourishes." 

Let, then, this "partly human and partly 
divine" preaching cease. The gospel which such 
preaching neglects will stand through all the 



120 PULPIT AND PEW. 

vicissitudes of time. Christ says, "Heaven and 
earth shall pass away, but my words [my gospel, 
my teachings] shall not pass away." (Matt. 
xxiv. 35.) Hence, the preacher must not leave it 
to pursue the ever-changing phantoms of human 
philosophy and speculation. Paul says, "The 
wisdom of this world is foolishness with God"; 
and "the foolishness of God is wiser than men." 
He also says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation 
to every one that believeth." (See 1 Cor. iii. 19; 
i. 25 Eom. i. 16.) And of him it is said: "And 
Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and 
three Sabbath-days reasoned with them out of the 
Scriptures." This single passage, even if we had 
nothing more, forever settles the matter of duty 
with all true ministers. They are responsible for 
preaching the gospel, and not for the effects of 
that gospel. If they fail to do so, then they are 
guilty of a great sin, and God will hold them ac- 
countable for that omission of duty not only here 
but at the judgment. 

13. lie must be consecrated to his work. 

Of all the professions, that of the sacred minis- 
try is the most laborious and the most important. 
The aim of every other avocation, to a great ex- 
tent, pertains to temporal good ; but this, to eternal 
felicity. The importance of every other office, 
therefore, falls as far short of this as three-score 
and ten years fall short of eternity. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 121 

The idolatrous priests of heathen nations, 
whose religions are a chaos of fables, devote their 
whole time, energies, and talents to their special 
work. Their religion is their business, their 
study, and their pleas are. And shall those who 
are set apart for the service of a religion as far 
above theirs as heaven is above earth, do less 
than those "blind leaders of the blind"? 

Jesus Christ, "the minister's pattern," fur- 
nished a striking illustration of the consecration 
which the sacred office demands. His whole soul 
was in it, and he subordinated earthly relation- 
ship, personal convenience, and even present 
necessity, to the great work in which he was en- 
gaged. No time was wasted upon trifles; nor was 
there ever an opportunity for doing good lost. 
Even the common courtesies of life were im- 
proved as occasions of the most important in- 
struction. The idea of relinquishing his work, or 
of subordinating it to any thing else, never once 
entered his mind. Through the most fiery trials, 
he persevered to the end; and compressed, with- 
in the space of three years, the most success- 
ful ministerial life recorded in the annals of 
time. 

Paul, in one paragraph, condenses, in the small- 
est compass, the consecration which is demanded 
of the minister. "Neglect not the gift that is in 
thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with 
the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly 



122 PULPIT AND PEW. 

to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; 
continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt 
both save thyself, and them that hear thee." (1 
Tim. iv. 14-16.) According to Paul's idea, there- 
fore, a minister is to be a laborer, and not a loiterer, 
in the vineyard of the Lord; not doing his work 
with a reluctant heart, but "giving himself 
wholly" to it. 

The great Cecil used to say, that the devil did 
not care how ministers are employed, so that it is 
not in their proper work. But the minister has 
only one "proper work." He is the constituted 
representative of Christ — is his ambassador; and 
he is to teach as Christ would teach. The blessed 
Saviour said, "No man can serve two masters," 
and this truth is especially applicable to the min- 
ister of the gospel. He may leave his great work, 
and engage in purely secular things; but, sooner 
or later, they will prove to be broken cisterns 
that hold no water. Try it when he may, he will 
find the atmosphere of trade and traffic more 
poisonous to the soul than the malaria of the 
Dismal Swamp is to the body. In it he may live; 
but it is to him a most unsatisfactory life. His 
heart throbs with an unhealthy action ; for, amid 
the "noise and bustle of the world," he is rest- 
less — yea, miserable; and could we know his in- 
ternal conflicts, and mark his struggles, we would 
need nothing more to convince us that he treads 
a rugged, painful, and embarrassed path. The 



PULPIT AND PEW. 123 

influence, too, of such a preacher has a most 
damaging effect. He either succeeds in his 
secular affairs, or he does not. If he does, it is at 
the expense of ministerial efficiency; if he fails, 
he is still seriously injured — injured pecuniarily 
and spiritually. Besides, his life has a most 
blighting influence not only upon the uncon- 
verted, but upon professing Christians — shows to 
them that he loves money better than souls! In- 
deed, of all the men engaged in the sacred pro- 
fession, only they succeed who give their whole 
time to the work. A profession which required 
all the ability of a Paul, is certainly enough for 
any one. Simply because Grod calls a man to the 
ministry, we are not to infer that that man is 
more than human in mental or physical capabili- 
ties — that he can succeed in two or more lines of 
business, when it requires all the energies of or- 
dinary men to succeed in one. The idea, there- 
fore, that a man can be an efficient and successful 
preacher, and a good lawyer, physician, mer- 
chant, or school-teacher, is utterly preposterous; 
nor does such an idea reflect much credit upon 
the intelligence of him who entertains it. If 
Jesus >drove the traffickers out of the temple, how 
can he permit such a man to enter the pulpit? 
He may permit it (for he acts sometimes in the way 
of judgment as well as mercy), but permit it with 
impunity he will not. Besides, it has not escaped 
the observation of thoughtful men that, when 
ministers do succeed in making money, they are 



124 PULPIT AND PEW. 

less liberal in the benevolent use of it than even 
men of the world. And this is reasonable and 
natural; for, when men disregard their higher 
obligations for the purpose of making money, it 
is not to be expected that they will be liberal in 
the use of it. The minister, therefore, who 
preaches against the world, and yet lives for it — 
who discourses from the text, " The love of money 
is the root of all evil," and yet makes money his 
idol — mocks both God and man ! 

The point which we wish to emphasize under 
this caption is that the minister must be a man 
of one work. Indeed, singleness of aim is indis- 
pensable to success in any avocation of life. The 
many-sided man, almost without exception, is a 
failure. The human mind, like a burning glass, 
is powerful only as it focalizes. JSo man has ever 
yet made a name and reputation who was not 
possessed by some master passion. Energy, like 
gunpowder, to be effective, needs concentration. 
Those who have sent their names ringing down 
through the ages have been men of one work. In 
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the true ■ 
secret of failure, in all worldly matters, is mental 
dissipation — the squandering of the energies 
upon a distracting variety of objects, instead of 
concentrating them upon one. Great statesmen, 
great generals, great jurists, great physicians, 
great teachers, great authors, great painters, great 
merchants — in brief, great any thing — can be 
made only of those who, like one of the grandest 



PULPIT AND PEW. 125 

men that this world has ever produced, ca n say, 
" This one thing I do." With a few rare excep- 
tions, the men whose names are historic, in all 
secular avocations, have been those who spent 
their life-force on some one thing. 

The sacred ministry constituted no exception 
to the statements just made in reference to secular 
calling's. The priestly office of the Old Dispensa- 
tion was filled by men who were set apart for that 
special service; nor were they expected or per- 
mitted to engage in any other avocation. The 
blessed Saviour, too, inculcated the same senti- 
ment when he called men to the apostolic office; 
for it is 'a matter of record that they "left all and 
followed him" — abandoned their secular business, 
no difference what kind nor how lucrative it may 
have been. But if the Scriptures were silent 
upon this point, reason would dictate the same 
thing. The work of a religious teacher is not 
only paramount to all others, but it is the most 
difficult, the most arduous, the most constant of 
all the avocations of men. No wonder, therefore, 
that even heathen nations demand that their re- 
ligious instructors " shall abstain from all worldly 
things "; for they very well know that in order that 
these men may be as profitable to them, in that 
relation, as they should be, their whole time, 
talent, and energy must be given to that special 
work. Now, if such consecration is deemed to 
be a matter of vital importance in reference to 
the teachers of false religions, how much more so 



125 PULPIT AND PEW. 

is it in reference to a religion revealed by God 
himself? 

No minister, no difference what his talents and 
learning may be, can reach the highest degree of 
usefulness in his profession who dissipates his 
energies over too many fields. He who makes 
the ministry a secondary thing may be a sound 
and even a learned preacher; but he never can 
be a powerful one. There is, it is true, a sort of 
pulpit fire which is rhetorical — proceeds from no 
warmth within, and diffuses no warmth without; 
but that preaching which awakens the spiritually 
dead — which makes the sinner cry out, "Jesus, 
thou son of David, have mercy on me" — can be 
done only by the minister whose soul is bathed 
in the love of G-od — by him who gives himself 
" continually " to the work. Look where we may, 
we shall find that the ministers of Christendom 
who have accomplished the grandest results — 
whom all preachers should most desire to imitate — 
have been those who have been true to their pro- 
fession, and who have lived for nothing else. It 
was so with Paul, with Luther, with Knox, with 
"Wesley, with Hall, with Edwards, with McGready, 
with Ewing — in a word — with all those grand 
men who have "turned the world upside down " — 
who have " lengthened the cords, and strengthened 
the stakes" of our common Zion. 

Let, then, the preacher give his whole time and 
talents to his work. Let his prayer be that of the 
sacred poet: 



PULPIT AND PEW. 127 

"My talents, gifts, and graces, Lord, 
Into thy blessed hands receive; 
And let me live to preach thy word; 

And let me to thy glory live — 
My every sacred moment spend 
In publishing the sinner's Friend." 

Said the grand old preacher of Haddington, 
" Now, after forty years' preaching of Christ, and 
his great and sweet salvation, I think I would rather 
beg my bread through all the laboring days of the 
week, for the opportunity of publishing the gos- 
pel on the Sabbath to an assembly of sinful men, 
than, without such a privilege, enjoy the richest 
possessions on earth." 

This topic closes what we propose to say in re- 
lation to " The qualifications and ditties ivhich are 
essential to a successful minister of the gospel." "We 
might mention others — might speak of the minis- 
ter in his associations with his official members — - 
in the higher courts of the Church — in the benevo- 
lent, and in the Sabbath-school work, of his 
charge — in the sick chamber, etc.; but more space 
has been occupied already than was originally 
allotted to the first half of this little book. Be- 
sides, the items alluded to, though important, are 
not so vital as those which have been discussed. 

A few, perhaps, may think that some things 
have been said a little too sharply; but when it 
is remembered that those were uttered only in ref- 
erence to some of the most crying evils connected 



128 PULPIT AND PEW. 

with the sacred ministry — evils, too, which all 
orthodox Christendom would rejoice to see re- 
moved — the hope is indulged that such critics, if 
any there be, will be disarmed — will agree with 
the author that the best remedy for some sins is an 
open exposure and a severe rebuke. One thing 
is certainly true — not a sentence or word has 
been written that was designed to be personal to 
a minister of Jesus Christ, either in the author's 
own denomination, or in any other. On the con- 
trary, he feels that he has written more against 
himself than against the humblest and most frail 
of that grand fraternity to which he belongs. 

"How beauteous are their feet 
Who stand on Zion's hill, 
Who bring salvation on their tongues, 
And words of peace reveal! 

"How charming is their voice! 
How sweet the tidings are! 
' Zion, behold thy Saviour King ; 
He reigns and triumphs here.' " 

God grant that these beautiful lines of the half- 
inspired poet may be applicable to every minister 
of the gospel on earth ! 



THE PEW-THE PEOPLE. 



PART II.-THE MEMBERSHIP. 



God's plans are perfect. He never leaves any 
thing incomplete. As the Psalmist expresses it, 
"The "Word of* the Lord is right; and all his 
works are done in truth." His arrangements are 
that one class must preach the gospel, and that 
the other (and a much larger one, too) must re- 
ceive it — must be " living epistles known and read 
of all men." The ministry and the membership are 
the two human forces which Heaven has ordained 
for subduing this world to Christ. They are com- 
plementary factors — each as dependent upon the 
other as are the officers and soldiers of an army. 
JSTo earthly sovereign ever sent out a force for the 
subjugation of a province composed of officers 
alone, however well-drilled, bold, and courageous 
they might be, for the simple reason that he could 
not afford to be guilty of enacting so grand a 
farce; nor can any one, who will reflect for a 
moment, believe that the great Sovereign of the 
Universe would attempt a still greater impossi- 
bility by endeavoring to conquer a world with a 
few ministers, however efficient, intrepid, and 
consecrated they might be. Officers are necessary, 
we grant, but they are not one particle more so 
than are the- common soldiery — the "rank and 
file." 

(131) 



132 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Seeing, then, that the membership constitutes a 
most important element in the grand army for 
the subjugation of the kingdoms of this world to 
"our Lord and to his Christ," we enter, without 
additional preliminary remarks, upon the con- 
sideration of the following proposition : 

II. — THE QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES WHICH ARE 
ESSENTIAL TO AN EFFICIENT CHURCH-MEMBER- 



In the space allotted to the second part of this 
little work, it will be impossible to treat exhaust- 
ively the various points which claim our attention ; 
nor will it be expected that all the qualifications 
requisite for efficient Church-membership will be 
presented in this brief treatise — the essential only 
will be set forth. 

1. Regeneration, or the "new birth." 

The blessed Saviour said to Nicodemus: "Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he cannot sec the king- 
dom of God." (John iii. 3.) But notwithstand- 
ing the fact that this is the basis of the Christian 
life, yet there are thousands upon thousands — yea, 
millions, it may be — belonging to the Church who 
are totally ignorant, experimentally, of the radi- 
cal change insisted upon by the great Teacher. 
It would, no doubt, be safe to affirm that there is 
not a Church on earth whose roll-book corre- 
sponds with the roll-book of heaven. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 133 

As has been previously stated, every thing that 
is good in this life has its counterfeits; and the 
religion of Jesus Christ, we regret to say, does 
not form an exception to the remark. A great 
chemist, a few years ago, discovered that by using 
certain ingredients he could make perfect imita- 
tions of the most beautiful and costly diamonds; 
but thousands of years before this chemist lived, 
the devil had found out that he could almost per- 
fectly imitate the Lord's jewels. A little ortho- 
doxy, and a good share of self-confidence, with 
a small amount of good works, have made many 
a child of Satan look very much like the child of 
God. But let us remember that paste is not dia- 
monds, nor is a mere profession of Christianity 
religion. 

The Bible teaches that there have ever been two 
classes of false professors — the hypocrite and the 
self-deceived. Of the former there are compara- 
tively few; but of the latter their name is 
"legion" Solomon says, "There is a way that 
seemeth right unto a man ; but the end thereof are 
the ways of death." (Prov. xiv. 12.) Sincerity, 
then, offers no conclusive evidence of piety. A 
person may be sincere in the belief of falsehood, 
as well as in the belief of truth — sincere in 
wrong-doing, as well as in right-doing. Paul 
tells us that he "verily thought that he ought to 
do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of 
Nazareth." (See Acts xxvii. 9.) Indeed, under 
no other hypothesis than that many are self-de- 



134 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ceived, can we explain the parables of the " tares 
of the field," and of the "net cast into the sea." 
(See Matt. xiii. 24-30; xiii. 47-50.) In addition, 
we have the most solemn warnings of Scripture: 
"Let no man deceive himself." (1 Cor. iii. 18.) 
"Let every man prove his own work." (Gal. vi. 
4.) "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the 
faith; prove your own selves." (2 Cor. xiii. 5.) 
"Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, 
deceiving your own selves." (James i. 22.) 

One of the most melancholy and alarming 
things connected with self-deception, is that it is 
almost sure to prove permanent. Those who had 
built upon the sand are represented as feeling 
perfectly secure until "the rains descended, and 
the floods came, and the winds blew," and their 
house was utterly destroyed. (Sec Matt. viii. 27.) 
The foolish virgins, too, seemed to be as well 
satisfied with their condition as were the wise. 
Nothing but the unexpected cry, "Behold, the 
bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him," dis- 
turbed their repose, and convinced them of their 
folly. (See Matt, xxv.) 

With these facts — Bible facts — before us, how 
important that we dig deep and lay a solid 
foundation! "All is not gold that glitters." 
There may be an appearance of piety, when the 
reality does not exist. Hence, we should rest 
upon nothing that will not stand the most crucial 
ordeal, and that will not endure the coming 
storm. True piety, like gold, will bear any test 



PULPIT AND PEW. 135 

that can be applied, and will be all the brighter 
and purer for it. 

Nothing short of a radical change can consti- 
tute us Christians. Man by nature is not par- 
tially but entirely depraved. The heart is no 
better than the life. If the fountain be pure, the 
stream will be so likewise. It is impossible to 
cleanse the stream while the fountain is corrupt. 
The Pharisees afforded a good illustration of this 
thought. But the great Searcher of hearts com- 
pared them to "whited sepulchers," which, how- 
ever beautiful without, are "within full of all 
manner of uncleanness." (See Matt, xxiii. 27.) 
Outward morality, then, is not enough. There 
must be a deeper work — the work of the Spirit. 
Religion, in its incipiency, is not a growth but a 
birth — not the germination of an innate principle, 
but a new creation. A devout and exemplary life 
is the fruit of such a creation — of such a birth. 
"Good works," therefore, instead of being the 
cause, are simply the effects of this internal 
change— like the hands on the dial-plate of the 
clock, showiDg that there is a power within which 
gives them motion. 

The new birth, then, is the corner-stone of the 
Christian life; and without it there can be no re- 
ligious superstructure. Bearing this thought in 
mind, we can account for the great difference 
which we see between those who profess to be the 
disciples of Christ. Some are upon the rock; 
others are upon the sand. Some have laid hold 



136 PULPIT AND PEW. 

on eternal life; others have only a " name to live." 
Membership in the Church is not a sufficient test; 
nor is Christian baptism. Ananias and Sapphira 
belonged to the Church, and had been baptized ; 
and yet they were both suddenly struck dead in 
their sins. Simon Magus had been baptized; and 
yet he continued in "the gall of bitterness and in 
the bond of iniquity." The blessed Saviour em- 
phasized this thought when he said: "Not every 
one that shall call unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will 
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not 
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast 
out devils, and in thy name done many wonder- 
ful works? And then will I profess unto them, 
I never knew you." (Matt. vii. 21-23.) 

Improvements have been made in science, agri- 
culture, etc., but none whatever in that new birth 
upon which the Saviour insisted. From death to 
life is the greatest of all changes; but no change 
short of this can fit the soul for heaven. As one 
of England's greatest divines said: "It is not a 
little reforming that will save a sinner. !No, nor 
all the morality in the world, nor the outward 
change of the life: they will not do unless we 
have a new life wrought in us." But as in nature, 
so in the Church, there are abortions — untimely 
births — and there are spiritual as well as medical 
accoucheurs who are ever ready to assist in these 
miscarriages. But the true children of Grod are 
not still-born; and it is a great calamity that 



PULPIT AND PEW. 137 

spiritual abortions are permitted to occur. Simply 
because, therefore, one has for many long years 
been a member of the Church, is no evidence, in 
itself, of conversion. There must be growth ; but 
until a spiritual life has been implanted, there can 
be none. A lifeless branch, however long it may 
be in the ground, will not grow. Finger-boards 
stand for ages, and measure distances for travelers, 
but never advance one inch. In the language of 
another, "Yery much of the religion of the day 
is an easy-minded religion, without conflict and 
wrestling with self-denial and sacrifice — a religion 
which knows nothing of the pangs of the new 
birth at its commencement, and nothing of the 
desperate struggle with the flesh and with the 
devil, day by day, making us long for.resurrection, 
for deliverance, for the Lord's return, It is a second- 
rate religion — a religion in which there is no large- 
ness, no grandeur, no potency, no noble mildness, no 
all-constraining love. It is a hollow religion, with 
a fair exterior, but with an aching heart — a heart 
unsatisfied, a soul not at rest, a conscience not at 
peace with G-od; a religion marked, it may be, by 
activity and excitement, but betraying all the 
while the consciousness of a wound hidden and 
unhealed within, and hence unable to animate to 
lofty doings, or supply the strength needed for 
such doing. It is a feeble religion, lacking the 
sinews and bones of happier times, very different 
from the indomitable, much-enduring, storm- 
braving religion, not merely of apostolic days, 



138 PULPIT AND PEW. 

but even of the Eeformation. It is an uncertain 
religion — that is to say, it is not rooted on cer- 
tainty; it is not the outflowing of the soul assured 
of pardon, and rejoicing in the filial relationship 
between itself and God. Hence, there is no 
liberty of service, for the question of personal 
acceptance is still an unsettled thing; there is a 
working for pardon. All is thus bondage, heavi- 
ness, irksomeness; there is a speaking of God, 
but it is with a faltering tongue; there is a labor- 
ing for God, but it is with fettered hands; there 
is a movement in the way of his command, but it 
is with a heavy drag upon our limbs. Hence, the 
inefficient, uninfluential character of our religion. 
It does not tell on others, for it has not fully told 
upon ourselves. It falls short of its mark; the 
arm that drew the bow is paralyzed." 

The points, then, to be settled by every Church- 
member are: "Am I in a state of nature, or 
in a state of grace — in a state of justification or 
in a state of condemnation? Am I a child of God 
or a child of Satan — an object of Divine favor, or 
an object of Divine wrath? " 

If the foregoing questions can be answered in 
the proper way, there can be no doubt as to the 
certainty of the first essential qualification of 
efficient Church-membership; and it is not only 
the privilege but the duty of those who can so 
answer to become members of some orthodox 
branch of the Church-militant — of that denomi- 
nation whose doctrines and usages, in their opin- 



PULPIT AND PEW, 139 

ion, come nearest to the teachings of the Sacred 
Scriptures, and in which they conscientiously be- 
lieve they can do the most good. 

2. They must have the gospel — the means of 
grace. 

Begeneration, as we have seen, is the basis of 
Christian life — the only foundation on which a 
superstructure of practical godliness can be 
erected. This " new birth," however, simply 
brings the child of G-od into existence; and though 
complete in his formation, yet, like the new-born 
infant, he is undeveloped. The Church, then, like 
a "nursing mother," must take the offspring born 
in her household, and develop them into full- 
grown men and women. Without this culture 
they would ever, in this life, remain " new-born 
babes," unable, wholly so, to "endure strong 
meat." 

One great purpose of the Church, then, is to 
develop the Christian. He, it is true, as soon as 
he is regenerated, is a "fit subject" for heaven; 
and if he were to die in one moment thereafter 
he would be saved. But, in that case, he would 
enter the world of bliss as a child; and would 
there, so to speak, have to join the "Infant Class," 
and receive that training and development which 
would capacitate him for the "unceasing and ex- 
panding joys " of that bright world. It is, there- 
fore, a wise provision of our Heavenly Father 
that while the Christian remains upon earth he 



140 PULPIT AND PEW. 

should have the advantage of that tutoring which 
will develop the faculties of his spiritual nature. 
The gospel of Christ is the great text-book from 
which those truths must come that will give the 
needed instruction. This, though, like text-books 
in secular education, in order to be made efficient, 
must be in the hands of an instructor; and as in 
secular education, too, there must be a place where 
the information is imparted. Heaven's ordained 
instructor is the minister of the gospel, and the 
chief center from which this light is to radiate 
is the pulpit. 

~No Christian, then, can afford to be deprived 
of the means of grace. It would be just as rea- 
sonable — yea, more so — to expect people to be- 
come eminent scholars without teachers and 
school-houses, as it would be for Church-members 
to become eminent Christians without ministers 
and churches. Indeed, a high order of Christian 
development is next to an impossibility where the 
pulpit does not exist. Look where we may, we 
shall always find that the most devoted, the most 
consecrated, the most efficient Christians are those 
who, Sabbath after Sabbath, receive the message 
of salvation as it comes from the warm heart of a 
faithful minister. 

Not only is the gospel needed to develop the 
Christian, but, likewise, to save the sinner. The 
religion of the Bible alone can satisfy the crav- 
ings of the immortal spirit. Human philosophy, 
in none of its forms, can do this. All that it can 



PULPIT AND PEW. 141 

do is to gauge the mind, and tell how capacious 
it is; but it cannot reveal the source from which 
the "new wine of consolation" is to come, which 
is to fill the empty vessel. The only panacea for 
the "world's woes" is the gospel of Christ. This 
gospel, too, has ever been a "tree of life" to all 
that have sat beneath its shade and partaken of 
its blessed fruits. The people who have never 
enjoyed its blessings have been compelled to feed 
upon husks fitted only for swine — yea, have been 
moral paupers, and have died the most pitiable 
of all deaths — death from starvation ! 

The Christian pulpit is the institution which, 
above all others, has elevated the communities in 
which it has been stationed — has girded them 
with a zone of light, and shed upon them the 
sweet influences of heavenly mercy. Its impor- 
tance cannot possibly be over-estimated. It has 
been the great educator of the world — has done 
more to arouse the intellect, awaken investigation, 
promote civilization, and advance learning than 
any other agency known to man. It is the grand 
lever which, in all ages, has elevated human 
society. Nothing can withstand its influence 
when properly wielded. The Roman power, be- 
fore which the nations of the earth bowed in ser- 
vile subjection, could not overcome the fishermen 
of Galilee, but was conquered by them. Histo- 
rians have made the success of Alexander the 
Great in subduing the Persian empire, with an 
army of thirty thousand, the theme of glowing 



142 PULPIT AND PEW. 

eulogies, both in prose and verse; but what was 
this to the conquests of one little band of apostles? 
Without arms, without allies, without influence, 
without allurements, Christianity went forth from 
its lowly hovel in Bethlehem — seized upon Jeru- 
salem, Ephesus, Corinth, Alexandria, Rome, over- 
turned idols, altars, temples — swept away the re- 
ligious formations of centuries, ascended the im- 
perial throne, waved its white flag of "peace and 
good-will," and said to all "tongues and kindred" 
come unto me, and I will give you rest. 

If these things be true, we see the importance — 
yea, the infinite importance — of having the gospel 
in every city, town, village, and hamlet in this 
broad land. A locality without it is in moral 
darkness — darkness so deep, so dens-e, that its 
people sit in the "region and shadow of death." 
Yet, be it said in sorrow, there are thousands 
upon thousands of localities, and in Christian 
lands, too, where the privileges and blessings of 
the sanctuary are scarcely known — localities in 
which the people are "well-to-do," have fertile 
lands and comfortable homes of their own, but 
meager or no gospel immunities — localities in 
which each one can say in the language of David 
when weeping over a somewhat similar state of 
things, "I dwell in an house of cedar, but the 
ark of God dwelleth within curtains" (2 Sam. 
vii. 2.) — localities in which there were once com- 
fortable houses of worship, in which the "candle 
of the Lord shone brightly," and where "sons 



PULPIT AND PEW. 143 

and daughters were born to God"; but which, by 
neglect and penuriousness, have been permitted 
to go to ruin — localities in which, Sabbath after 
Sabbath, the faithful "messenger of the skies" 
preached "Jesus and the resurrection " to attentive 
ears and responsive hearts ; but where the voice 
of the man of God is hushed in silence, and 
where no congregation gathers to worship — local- 
ities in which "sin runs riot," and where the 
few professed Christians who still remain, have, 
like Lot of old, so far yielded to the vices of their 
ungodly neighbors that they have become utter 
strangers to the enjoyments of religion, and have 
seen their children grow up in everlasting 
shame — localities in which, if there is a place for 
public worship, it is so forbidding and so uncom- 
fortable, that it is a fit habitation for the owl and 
the bat, scarcely suitable for a " den of thieves," 
and which stands as a monument not only to tell 
the passing stranger but the children of that com- 
munity the estimate which these people have of 
God and the religion of the Bible ! 

Some may, and doubtless do, think the picture 
overdrawn ; but it is not. There are, we repeat, 
thousands upon thousands of just such places in 
this goodly land. What a shame ! No greater 
calamity could befall a people than to be thus 
situated. Of all the calamities that ever cursed 
this earth, an utter dearth of gospel privileges is 
the most to be dreaded and deplored. War with 
its bloody scythe may mow down its thousands; 



144 PULPIT AND PEW. 

pestilence with its leprous band may slay its mill- 
ions; famine with, its blighting breath may 
" wither every green herb." But those thus cut 
down may have "bands in their death," while 
those who die without the gospel and the conso- 
lation it can give, are without hope and without 
God in the world. 

Where, then, is the child of God that is willing 
to live without the means of grace? Where are 
the Christian parents who are willing to bring up 
their children in a locality in which they cannot 
enjoy the ordinances of God's house? They had 
better — infinitely better — withhold from their off- 
spring the good things of this life than to deprive 
them of the hopes and consolations of that which 
is to come. God virtually says to all parents 
when a son or daughter is born unto them, " Take 
this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay thee 
thy wages." What a treasure is thus committed 
to Christian parents ! Will they, can they be in- 
different? When their children are dangerously 
ill, they call for the services of the most skillful 
physicians; nor do they for a moment stop to 
consider the item of cost. Likewise, when they 
are to be educated, they employ the best talent; 
and use money without stint. In both instances 
they are to be commended ; for they are simply 
discharging the duties which God and human 
society have enjoined upon them. But how dif- 
ferent in reference to "everlasting things" ! The 
declaration is made in the deepest sorrow, but it 



PULPIT AND PEW. 145 

is true : Many 'parents seem to regard as lost that 
which they expend for the gospel. In a religious 
point of view, they seem to be utterly oblivious 
fo the wants of their children. They could not 
bear to hear them cry for bread — would feel that 
they ought to be execrated by God and man if 
they were to permit their dependent ones to 
starve for food; but they seem to forget that their 
children are "not to live by bread alone, but by 
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
God" — forget that their children have souls as 
well as bodies — souls, too, which hunger and 
thirst for the bread and water of life just as 
keenly as their bodies do for temporal bread and 
water. The plea of poverty which is often made 
as an excuse for the lack of this spiritual provis- 
ion may satisfy a penurious professor of religion, 
but it cannot satisfy the conscience of a genuine 
Christian. The same money expended-, in any 
locality, for school-houses, for teachers, for phy- 
sicians, for lawyers, would more than make ample 
provision for the means of grace in that com- 
munity. Is the minister of Jesus Christ of less 
importance than these? Again, the taxes — State, 
county, and municipal — paid by any people 
would give them the sanctuary with all of its 
hallowed blessings every Sabbath. Are the 
courts of Caesar more important than the temples 
of God? Surely no one, not even the infidel, will 
so say; for, though the latter may mock at re- 
ligion, yet no one is more eager than he to enjoy 
10 



146 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the protection to person and property which the 
sanctuary insures. 

Let, then, no Christian community feel that it 
has met its duties to God and man unless it has 
made provision for the means of grace. David 
did a greater and better work for Israel when he 
purchased the threshing floor of Araunah, built 
an altar to God, offered a sacrifice thereon, and 
stayed the raging pestilence, than when in his 
kingly power he executed his edicts against his 
most bitter enemies. This provision upon which 
we are insisting, too, must be worthy of the cause 
in behalf of which it is made. Every neat, com- 
fortable, attractive church-building is an anthem 
to God; and when occupied by a faithful, conse- 
crated, efficient minister, it is a "city set upon 
a hill." On the contrary, every untidy, dark, 
dingy, uncomfortable "meeting-house" is a dis- 
grace to any Christian community — yea, an an- 
them to Satan. In a word, no people, claiming 
to be Christians, can say that they have met 
their obligations in this particular until the house 
of God is the most attractive place in any com- 
munity — until it can be said, "How amiable 
[pleasant, delightful, soul-cheering] are thy taber- 
nacles, O Lord of hosts ! " 

3. They must attend the sanctuary. 

Man is a social being; and the religion of the 
Bible is a social principle. It was never intended 
by our Heavenly Father that any human being 



PULPIT AND PEW. 147 

should be independent of all the rest; nor has 
such a person ever existed from the birth of the 
race. Indeed, this principle of interdependence 
is seen not only in the human family, but 
throughout the inferior grades of creation— in 
the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral king- 
doms. While, therefore, the Book of books 
teaches that "no man liveth to himself," the book 
of Nature teaches that not a single created thing 
exists independently. Look where we may, 
throughout the vast dominions of God, we see 
this great truth everywhere taught. This asser- 
tion is as applicable to the giant as to the infant, 
to the oak as to the violet, to the leviathan as to 
the animalcule, to the ocean, as to the rivulet, to 
the universe as to the atom. 

The All-wise Creator had a purpose in thus 
linking, so to speak, the different parts of this 
"grand harmonious whole"; bat this is neither 
the time nor the place to enter into an investiga- 
tion of that purpose, except so far as man is con- 
cerned in a religious point of view. His entire 
being — physical, mental, and moral — proves that 
he was made to worship. This worship consists 
of two kinds — private and public. Private devo- 
tion is necessary — yea, essential; but it is not 
sufficient, inasmuch as it fails to bring into requi- 
sition man's religious influence as a social being. 
He may worship God in the closet — indeed, he 
must do so; but so far as the world is concerned, 
it is a "light under a bushel," and not "on a 



148 PULPIT AND PEW. 

candlestick." Private devotion is not public 
worship ; nor can it ever supersede it any more 
than private study can supersede public educa- 
tion. Indeed, that piety is worth but little which 
shuns expression, and association with the good 
m a universal duty — which talks of seeing God 
in the sun, in the sky, in the waterfall, yet can- 
not view him in his own house, at his own altars, 
and in his own ordinances. Such sainthood 
makes no impression upon the world. It is a 
piety which Moses, Isaiah, Paul, and the Redeemer 
never knew. Public worship is God's method of 
letting one's Christian "light shine before men." 
This kind of worship too, is as old as the human 
race, as is evidenced by the conduct of Cain and 
Abel. It is a fact, also, which no reader of the 
Bible will controvert, that throughout the whole 
Jewish dispensation God demanded public wor- 
ship, as the history of the tabernacle and of the 
temple clearly demonstrates. The men, likewise, 
most eminent in holiness — such men as JSToah, 
Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Daniel, etc. — belonging 
to the same dispensation, were the most faithful 
and constant in this public worship. It is also 
true, that some of the severest punishments in- 
flicted upon the children of Israel were for neg- 
lecting the public worship of God. 

The same is true, and to a greatly enlarged ex- 
tent, too, of the Christian dispensation. The 
blessed Saviour, while he led a spotless life in 
private, was careful to attend the synagogues, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 149 

and there engage in public worship. Indeed, he 
gave utterance to the great truth that, " neither 
in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem," should 
God be worshiped, but everywhere. (See John 
iv. 21.) He came to reform the world — "to seek 
and to save that which was lost" — and he knew 
that the only way to accomplish his mission was 
to proclaim the great truths of the gospel in pub- 
lic — to the people assembled for that purpose. 
So, too, of the apostles. They "turned the world 
upside down " by the public administration of 
the word. In brief, all the aggressive steps 
which Bible-truth has taken, in all ages, have 
been the results of public worship — it is God's 
chief plan for the redemption of a lost world. 

With these facts in view, where is the Christian 
who does not see and feel the importance of at- 
tending the sanctuary? The instincts of piety, 
in all Christian lands, prompt the children of God 
to associate together, that at set times and in 
sacred places, with "praise and prayer" they may 
worship the Supreme Being. Indeed, this form 
of worship is as wide-spread as the human race. 
Nor is there any duty more reasonable. 

The Christian should attend the sanctuary be- 
cause it is his Father's house. It is true, as the 
Psalmist says, "The heaven of heavens cannot 
contain" God; but it is also true that, in one 
sense, the sanctuary is his dwelling-place. It is 
there that God reveals himself to his children in 
a peculiar manner. During the Old Dispensation 



150 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the tabernacle and the temple were the places 
where God manifested himself; and to enjoy that 
manifestation, the true Israelite must go there to 
worship. The same is true to-day. We, of course, 
admit that G-od is everywhere — in the valley, on 
the mountain, and in every place in the vast do- 
minions of the universe; but he is there as the 
Creator of all things, and not as the Father of the 
soul. There is no "Our Father" in any or all of 
these. 

Another reason why the Christian should at- 
tend the sanctuary is, because Christ has promised 
to meet him there. "Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in 
their midst." (Matt, xviii. 20.) It requires, as 
will be seen from the passage quoted, but a small 
audience to secure his presence; still, it is a pub- 
lic service. What a presence, too, is promised ! 
All of us, perhaps, have often wished that we had 
lived in the days of his incarnation, that we 
might have seen him with our eyes, heard him 
with our ears, and touched him with our hands; 
but if we will only think for a moment, it is a 
vain and foolish wish. Jesus is as really present 
to-day in a sanctuary of devout worshipers as he 
was with Peter and John when he went with 
them to the temple. We cannot see him, it is 
true; but sight is no evidence of nearness. We 
cannot see the air, nor the electric principle; and 
yet they surround us — yea, dwell in us ! 

In the next place, the Christian should attend 



PULPIT AND PEW. 151 

the sanctuary because it is his birthplace. What 
a dear place is the "old homestead" — the place of 
our natural birth, the scenes of childhood, and the 
haunts of our youthful days! It is rarely the 
case that one becomes so sunken in shame as that 
he ceases to love the place where he was born. 
Often we see persons of three-score-and-ten mak- 
ing long and weary pilgrimages to the place of 
their nativity. It may be in the possession of 
strangers, but it matters not; it is still a sacred 
spot — the place where father and mother sat, and 
where brothers and sisters played — the spring, 
the orchard, the meadow — O how sacred ! It is 
just so with the Christian in reference to the 
sanctuary. It is his birthplace ; and how tender 
are the associations which are entwined about it ! 
There, perhaps, he shed the first penitential tear; 
there he resolved, by the Holy Spirit's assistance, 
to be a Christian; there he gave his heart to God; 
there he felt the ineffable joys of salvation. Why, 
then, should he not love a place so sacred, so 
halloAved? Who could censure him if he were to 
exclaim in the language of Peter on the mount 
of transfiguration, "Lord, it is good to be here." 
(Matt. xvii. 4.) 

An additional reason why the Christian should 
attend the sanctuary is, it is the place where he 
meets his brethren. One of the tests given by 
Divine authority for true religion is love for the 
brethren. "We know that we have passed from 
death unto life, because we love the brethren." 



152 PULPIT AND PEW. 

(1 John iii. 14.) "He that loveth not his brother 
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom 
he hath not seen?" (1 John iv. 20.) There is a 
strong, yea, indescribable, attachment in the 
bosoms of all Christians for one another; nor is 
it strange that it should be so. They are children 
of the same loving Father, soldiers in the same 
grand army, and pilgrims on the same delightful 
journey. Does the boy love his brother, the sol- 
dier his comrade, the traveler his companion? 
Then why should not the Christian love the sanct- 
uary, the common house of himself and his 
brethren — brethren born of the same Father, in 
the same household; and having the same hopes 
and fears, the same joys and sorrows; and all 
heirs to the same inheritance, "an inheritance 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away." 

Furthermore, the Christian should attend the 
sanctuary because of the happy influences which 
it exerts. No one, not even the infidel, can deny 
the truth of this statement. Aside from its posi- 
tive, it exerts a most powerful negative in- 
fluence. In a pecuniary point of view, no in- 
vestment of like amount pays so well as contri- 
butions to the house of God. It is a fact of his- 
tory that the sanctuary lessens the number of 
inmates in prisons and almshouses. The duties 
of the officers of the law are diminished in pro- 
portion as the house of God is respected. As the 
Church is enlarged, the burglar is excluded. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 153 

"Where God's altars burn, we have fewer incendi- 
ary fires. Those who pa}* the Lord's cheap tithes 
for the support of the sanctuary, escape the 
devil's heavy taxes for the commission of crime. 
To talk about the burdens of the house of God is 
sheer nonsense, when we call to mind those which 
result from its neglect; for if religion has its serv- 
ice, irreligion has its slavery, and no exactions 
are so cruel and heavy as those of sin." 

Finally, the Christian should attend the sanct- 
uary because of the delightful repast which it 
affords his hungry and thirsty spirit. It is, as 
the Psalmist expresses it, "the gate of heaven." 
The house of God is the nearest place to heaven 
in all this sinful world. Without it, the world is 
a desert, and its pillows are stones; but the sanct- 
uary is the resting-place of that ladder which 
reaches from earth to heaven, and on which the 
angels ascend and descend. In a word, heaven is 
but the earthly sanctuary continued. John, in 
the Apocalypse, expressed the same sentiment 
when he said, "I saw the holy city, New Jerusa- 
lem, coming down from God, out of heaven," etc. 
(See Eev. xxi. 2.) 

It is, then, the imperative duty of every 
Church-member to attend the services of the 
sanctuary when not providentially hindered. 
The great Head of the Church has established the 
sanctuary and its ordinance's for the highest ends 
to the human race; and his children cannot neg- 
lect them without doing much to defeat those 



154 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ends. Indeed, to neglect them is to help to de- 
stroy them. Absence from the sanctuary, when it 
can be avoided, dishonors the Saviour, brings 
his cause into disrepute before the world, dis- 
heartens fellow-Christians, chills the heart of the 
minister, and bolts the door against those bless- 
ings which are in store for the faithful worshiper. 
The Christian, then, should make greater sacri- 
fices to be at the sanctuary than to be at any 
place appointed for worldly business. In brief, 
the habit of attending the sanctuary should be so 
firmly established by every Christian, who is not 
physically disabled, that he feels sorely uncom- 
fortable if compelled to be absent. Grod has 
spoken upon this matter, and if we neglect to 
hear and heed, we do so at our own peril and 
that of others. "Not forsaking the assembling 
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is." 
(Heb. x. 25.) " Blessed are they that dwell in thy 
house: they will be still praising thee." (Ps. 
lxxxiv. 4.) 

4. They must be circumspect in their walk — must 
be consistent Christians. ' 

While the blessed Saviour was upon earth he 
was the exponent — yea, the embodiment — of the 
religion which he came to teach and exhibit. He 
could not, however, speak to all, nor could he ap- 
pear to all, during the brief period in which he 
sojourned among men. He, therefore, said to his 
followers — all of them — " Ye are the light of the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 155 

world"; and then he added with the same em- 
phasis, "Let your light so shine before men, that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your 
Father which is in heaven." (Matt. v. 14, 16.) 
His reason, no doubt, for making these declara- 
tions, was that the world of sinners is influenced 
more by the lives which Christians lead than by 
the professions which they make. 

A consistent life, then, is the greatest influence 
which the child of God can wield; and it is one 
of Heaven's mightiest instrumentalities for the 
accomplishment of good on earth. The Bible, 
folded between lids of cloth, of calf-skin, or of 
morocco, is a great blessing; but when, in the 
shape of a human being, it goes out into the 
world, a Bible illustrated, it exerts a much greater 
influence than the mere printed page. There is, 
indeed, a moral omnipotence in a holy life. Argu- 
ment may be resisted; and persuasion and en- 
treaty may be ridiculed and scorned. The thrill- 
ing and touching appeals from the pulpit, though 
set forth with the logic of a Paul, or with the 
eloquence of a Cephas, may be evaded or disre- 
garded. But the exhibition of exalted piety has 
a power which no human can disregard and de- 
spise. It is the essence of truth — truth focalized — 
truth embodied. ISTo sophistry can elude it. No 
conscience can ward it off. ISTo bosom wears a 
coat of mail strong enough to resist the energy 
of its attack. It speaks in all languages, in all 
climes, and to all phases of human nature. It is 



156 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the gospel, burning in the hearts, beaming from 
the eyes, breathing from the lips, and preaching 
in the lives of its votaries. In a word, it is a 
perpetual sermon — a sermon which, like the light 
of the sun, repeats itself day by day. 

The great Teacher said, "If any man will come 
after me, let him deny himself, and take up 
his cross and follow me." (Matt. xvi. 24.) He 
also said, in speaking of his children, that they 
are "in the world," but "not o/the world," (See 
John xvii. 12, 14.) 

These scriptures, with many similar passages 
which might be quoted, clearly teach that there 
is a well-defined line of separation between 
Christians and sinners — between the Church and 
the world. But there are many whose names are 
upon the Church-book who seem to have made a 
treaty of peace with the world. The terms of 
this treaty are that they will not interfere with 
the world in its pleasures and in its sins, provided 
that they, when it suits their convenience and 
taste, shall be permitted to indulge in like pleas- 
ures and sins. This compromise, so far as they 
are concerned, is a complete surrender — a com- 
promise in which they lose all and gain nothing. 
Such Church-members, to the honor of our com- 
mon Zion be it said, are not the true exponents 
of the religion of the Bible. They are the dis- 
cordant elements in the great brotherhood of 
Christians — hard to control, and difficult to keep 
in position. Like a certain class of soldiers, they 



PULPIT AND PEW. 157 

are always ready to desert and go over to the 
camp of the enemy. They can never be relied 
upon in Church-work. True, they are active — 
are always in motion — but, like the pendulum of 
a clock, they swing from one extreme to the 
other. There are two forces in natural philos- 
ophy, known as centrifugal and centripetal — one 
tending to fly from the center, the other tending 
toward the center. The same is true of Church- 
members; and, unfortunately, there are too many 
in the centrifugal class. Such professors, instead 
of looking upon religion as "daily bread," seem 
to regard it as a medicine— are willing to take a 
dose occasionally; but, as they appear to think, 
the less they take the better it will be for 
them. 

A religious life, like animal and vegetable life, 
requires an adaptation of place, culture, etc., in 
order to a full and complete development. There 
are places in which it would be most unreason- 
able to expect religion to prosper. We might as 
well look for roses to bloom in the frigid zone, or 
for pine-apples to grow on the summit of Mont 
Blanc, as to expect piety to flourish in situations 
which are wholly uncongenial to it. Prominent 
among these forbidding places we may mention 
the ball-room and the theater. True, there are 
places which are still more forbidding; but pro- 
fessing Christians are not likely to go to them. 
The two mentioned are those most to be dreaded 
of all the places which pleasure-loving members 



158 PULPIT AND PEW. 

of the Church are in the habit of attending. This, 
however, is not "the time or place" for a full dis- 
cussion of these corrupt and corrupting " amuse- 
ments," for two reasons: First, want of space — 
would swell this small volume beyond the limits 
intended; second, a " hundred and one" little 
"books and tracts, which are accessible to every- 
one, have covered the entire ground. Still, it is 
not out of place, even in this work, to make a few 
statements, and to utter a few words of warning, 
not only in reference to the social dance and the 
theater, but, likewise, in reference to the general 
subject of "worldly, fashionable, amusement." 

It is a fact of history that all of the evangelical 
denominations of Christendom have condemned, 
in the strongest language, the ball-room and the 
theater. Surely, this unanimous protest, coming 
down through the centuries of the Christian era, 
cannot be treated with indifference by any one 
who claims to be a child of G-od. Indeed, this 
fact alone ought to be sufficient to prevent the 
most giddy and thoughtless Church-member from 
even desiring to attend them. No one can doubt 
that the ecclesiastical Councils that have made 
these " deliverances " were actuated by the highest 
and purest Christian motives; nor should the oft- 
repeated "declaration and testimony" which they 
bear against the "'dance and the theater" be con- 
sidered any thing else than the voice of God 
speaking through the Churches. Many Church- 
members, it is true, look upon these utterances as 



PULPIT AND PEW. 159 

being "extrajudicial" — utterances not authorized 
by the Bible; and they attempt to weaken their 
force by triumphantly exclaiming, "Show us a 
single passage of Scripture which condemns the 
dance and the theater, and we will at once aban- 
don both." They forget, however, that there are 
many things not particularly forbidden in Script- 
ure, which are, nevertheless, contrary to the 
plain and obvious spirit of its precepts. We are 
not forbidden, in so many words, to set our 
neighbor's house on fire;, yet no one will dare 
say that the perpetration of such a deed is not a 
crime. We reason, in this case, from the general 
tenor of Scripture, which requires us to respect 
the property and happiness of our fellow-men. 
In the same way, precisely, must we reason in 
other cases in which the Scriptures are not ex- 
plicit. It was never intended that the Bible 
should particularly specify and name every crime 
of which men might be guilty. A book which 
would do this would not be calculated to answer 
the purposes of a Divine revelation, for there 
would be very few who could find time to read its 
contents. 

Of both these "places of amusement" it ought 
to be a sufficient condemnation to say, in addition 
to the foregoing, that their tendency is to " evil, 
and that continually"; that the purest and most 
exemplary Christians do not encourage them; 
that there is nothing in either of them calculated 
to refine the taste or elevate the morals ; that they 



160 PULPIT AND PEW. 

are the 'arenas on which the god of this world 
makes his most diabolical display; that they are 
the abettors of pride, the instigators of jealousy, 
the sacrificial altars of health, and the avenues of 
lust. These are strong expressions — severe in- 
dictments; but where is the Christian who can 
lay his hand upon his heart and say that they are 
not true? How, then, can he encourage them? 
How can he agree to such unequal companion- 
ship? 

In reference to ''fashionable amusements" in 
general, the following may be affirmed: They are 
expensive; they occasion loss of time; they pre- 
vent the acquisition of more solid accomplish- 
ments; and they unfit the mind for religious du- 
ties. These, likewise, are strong charges; but no 
candid, thoughtful Christian will call them in 
question. A taste for them is utterly uncon- 
genial with true godliness. Indeed, an undue 
fondness for even lawful worldly amusements is 
detrimental to vital piety. Eeligion, though a 
hajipy thing, is a serious thing; and festivity and 
mirth do not promote its growth and develop- 
ment. Besides, for a child of God to seek his 
chief enjoyments from what we are wont to 
designate as '-'innocent pleasures," is a virtual 
denial of the Saviour's words, "Whosoever 
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall 
never thirst." Now, thirsting after worldly instead 
of religious enjoyments, indicates clearly that the 
water from the "well of salvation" has not en- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 161 

tered into the soul; and it also virtually asks the 
question, "Who will show us any good?" — a ques- 
tion which - the Psalmist teaches us is asked only 
by the worldling — yea, by the infidel! A true 
Christian, then, cannot be too careful in reference 
to them. He cannot afford to partake of them 
simply to prove that his religion does not debar 
him from their enjoyment. The way to win a 
sinner to Christ is not to go and partake of his 
amusements, but to prove to him that a Christian 
is happier in his pleasures than the sinner can 
possibly be in the pleasures of the world — that 
the Christian drinks of the "water of life, clear 
as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and 
the Lamb," while the sinner is drinking from the 
polluted streams which issue from the earthly 
fountains. The gospel rule is, "Come out from 
among them and be ye separate, and touch not 
the Unclean thing." An utter refusal, then, to 
participate in sin is the very best way to con- 
demn sin. Association is assimilation. Extenu- 
ating contact with evil is of itself corruption. 
The law of the New Testament is separation of 
the precious from the vile; and according to the 
same unerring standard, purity begins with, and 
is maintained by, non-intercourse with that which 
is vicious. 

Said Christ, "Whosoever shall confess me be- 
fore men, him will 1 confess before my Father 
which is in heaven." This declaration was in- 
tended for all time — for every one who desires to 
11 



162 PULPIT AND PEW. 

be saved. It is especially adapted to those coin- 
promising Christian professors who seem to de- 
light to occupy debatable territory — territory 
which lies too near Satan's provinces for spiritual 
health and growth. It is adapted, likewise, to 
those who wish to be on Christ's side at the final 
judgment, but who are unwilling to deny them- 
selves, and take up their cross, and follow him in 
this present evil world. The confession, however, 
to which the Saviour alluded is a very compre- 
hensive expression — refers to the heart, to the lips, 
and to the life. Hence, those who refuse to thus 
"confess" Christ fail to comply with his de- 
mands. They are, also, self-convicted cowards, 
who enlist simply for the "bounty." In the 
"warfare" in which they are exj)ected to engage, 
they never answer to the roll-call of duty. In- 
stead of being "shining lights," they are dark 
lanterns; and instead of benefiting others by 
their secret, clandestine attempts to gain heaven, 
they become "stumbling-blocks." 

Conformity to the world, then, is wholly incon- 
sistent with the Christian profession. The spirit 
of the world is not. the Spirit of Christ. Its 
maxims are not the maxims of the Bible; nor 
are its judgments the judgments of reason en- 
lightened by Bevel ation. If, then, the Christian 
adopts its maxims, he will go forth in doubt and 
uncertainty on his earthly mission, and will die 
without accomplishing it. In the language of 
another, "Earth's cup is poisoned; her praise, re- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 163 

proach ; her wisdom blind ; her gain, eternal loss ; 
her hope a dream; her total sum — her all — utter 
vanity." The Christian professor, therefore, who 
looks to the world for his pleasures and enjoy- 
ments, will find it a barren plain — yea, a moral 
Sahara on which nothing exists that will satisfy 
the hunger and thirst of an immortal spirit. 
The questions, then, which least concern him are: 
What does the world teach? "What does the world 
promise? .What does the world demand? But 
those which do concern him for time and eternity 
are: What is true? What is of good report? 
What will make humanity better and happier? 
What will make a useful and blessed life? * What 
will wipe away falling tears and heal broken 
hearts ? 

One of the greatest hinderances to the spread 
of true religion is the want of a clearer line of 
detnarkation between those who are in the Church 
and those who are not; and we have no right to 
hope for a rapid diffusion of Christianity except 
in proportion as its friends stand out from the 
world in beautiful distinctness in their practices. 
The brightness of their example, too, must ex- 
tend to their whole life; not in theory merely, but 
in conduct] not in one thing, but in all things. 
How careful and circumspect, therefore, should 
the Christian be! He is not his own. He is 
blood-bought. He is Christ's servant, Christ's 
follower, Christ's witness. Let him, then, obey 
the heavenly injunction, "Whatsoever things are 



164 vutjFit and pew. 

true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things 
are of good report; if there be any virtue, and 
if there be any praise, think on these things." 
(Phil. iv. 8.) 

5. They must live in peace and unity. 

One of the chief characteristics of the religion 
of the Bible is that it is a religion of peace. Its 
great Author is the "Prince of peace," as the 
Scriptures declare. Heathen nations have their 
temples of war — temples on whose altars gods of 
'•vengeance and blood" are placed, in order to 
call forth the most cruel and vindictive feelings 
of those bowing at such shrines. But on the 
altars of the temples erected in behalf of the re- 
ligion of the meek and lowly Saviour, no such 
images are' found. Instead of encouraging and 
fostering such feelings, Christianity excludes from 
her altars every worshiper who "has aught 
against his brother." (See Matt. v. 23.) Indeed, 
no attentive reader of the Bible has failed to ob- 
serve the great importance attached to the neces- 
sity of kindly feelings among the brotherhood. 
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall 
prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy 
walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." (Ps. 
cxxii. 7.) "By this shall all men know that ye 
are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 
(John xiii; 35.) " Be at peace among yourselves." 



PULPIT AND PEW. 165 

(1 Thess. v. 13.) "Behold how good and how 
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in 
unity." (Ps. cxxxiii. 1.) 

It would be difficult indeed to account for the 
rapid spread of Christianity in the days of the 
apostles, if we leave out of view the brotherly 
love, peace, and unity which characterized the 
followers of Christ. These distinguishing marks 
were made not only a test of discipleship, but, as 
a whole, were considered an elementary principle, 
without which a man could not obtain from saint 
or sinner, angel or devil, even the name of 
Christian. Without these essentials they did not 
pretend to claim that they were the children of 
God. And the world, as it beheld this affection 
and oneness of purpose permeating the hearts of 
the early Christians, felt and confessed that a re- 
ligion which could produce such wonderful re- 
sults must be from Gpd. "By one Spirit" they 
were "all baptized into one body," and they re- 
garded themselves, and were regarded by all 
around them, as members of one harmonious and 
devoted brotherhood. Christ was the center of 
attraction around which they rallied and united; 
and, like the radii of a circle, the nearer they 
approached the center, the nearer they were to 
each other. 

Now, just what those early Christians were 
among themselves, so the members of each one 
of the individual congregations in the various de- 
nominations of Christendom should be toward 



163 PULPIT AND PEW. 

each other. But, lamentable to say, such is not 
always the case. Often, in the same congregation, 
we find ungodly dissensions — "debates, envyings, 
wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swell- 
ings, tumults." (2 Cor. xii. 20.) And of all dif- 
ficulties Church difficulties are the worst. When 
professors of religion fight, it is a Waterloo, with 
no Bliicher to come up even at nightfall to decide 
the contest. It is, too, a merciless warfare; for, 
as a general thing, it is a war without "ex- 
empts" — conscripts all, men and women, old and 
young — forces every one not only to take sides, 
but to engage in active service. JSTo blood is 
shed, it is true; but till are badly scarred. In 
civil war, thousands upon thousands of the most 
daring and intrepid soldiers pass through a score 
of battles and come out unscathed; but in a 
Church-war not one who engages in it escaj)es 
without a wound. These wounds, too, are ex- 
ceedingly difficult to heal; for they are made with 
the most poisonous of all arrows — a "tongue set 
on fire of hell." (See James iii. 6 ) As a general 
thing, too, a civil war lasts only a short time; but 
a Church-war lasts for years and years — yea, 
sometimes for a generation ! In a civil war, like- 
wise, much that is good and valuable is spared, 
and even the severe losses can, in a short time, 
be repaired; but in a Church-war there is little 
left that is desirable, and the losses can never be 
retrieved. If Satan and his minions ever "hold 
high carnival" in Tophet, it is when just such a 



PULPIT AND PEW. 167 

warfare as wo have described is waged in a con- 
gregation of professed Christians. It is a matter 
of astonishment to see the extent to which mem- 
bers Of the Church will sometimes go in these ec- 
clesiastical combats ; and the most charitable way 
to account for it is, to say that when the devil 
does get into the heart of a good man, knowing 
that his stay is limited, he provokes and goads 
him to the utmost of his diabolical power. 

How careful, then, should Christians be to 
avoid the worst of all calamities — a Church diffi- 
culty! TVho has not. seen the effects of such 
troubles? How many old, dilapidated church - 
buildings stand to-day as monuments of the vic- 
tories gained by the Arch-fiend who planned the 
canrpaign and commanded the soldiers who 
fought under his diabolical flag! Their "name is 
legion"! What a sad reckoning, too, awaits 
those who were the colonels, captains, and lieu- 
tenants under this commander-in-chief of discord ! 
The declaration is made in sorrow, but there are 
those who seem to take pleasure in fomenting 
these difficulties. Yea, it is a truth which cannot 
be denied, that there* are men belonging to the 
Church whose voices are never heard in prayer, 
whose pecuniary gifts are- exceedingly, meager 
when compared with their means, and who seem 
utterly destitute of piety, who yet, by turbulence 
of speech and action, will attempt to rule a whole 
Church. No one, of course, loves such characters ; 
but they exert a wonderful influence— can drive 



168 PULPIT AND PEW. 

away ministers, distract Churches, prevent revivals, 
and alienate friends. Such men play havoc with 
the organizations which are so unfortunate as to 
be compelled to own them as members; for they 
in sinuate themselves into the very heart of the 
Church, derange its affairs, hinder the workers, 
discourage the faithful, disgust the candid, and 
desolate every thing. Of course they are not 
Christians, though their names may be recorded 
on the Church-roll. They are the Achans who 
trouble the camp of Israel, the Judas Iscariots 
who would betray their Lord and Master — yea, 
the moral lepers whose touch is death, and whose 
running ulcers nothing but the "balm in Gilead" 
can heal. 

Let, then, every Christian shun these Church 
difficulties as he would the deadly poison of the 
Upas tree. Solomon says, "the beginning of 
strife is as when one letteth out water." (Prov. 
xvii. 14.) The time, therefore, to prevent the 
outbreak of these difficulties is to take them in 
their incipiency. The breach in a dam which 
might be covered with a man's hand, if neglected, 
may occasion a deluge. Animosities among the 
followers of Christ often spring from very insig- 
nificant, things; and, unless they are adjusted, 
they lead to the most fatal consequences. The 
river forms a broader and deeper current as it 
runs. The stone that is started from the mount- 
ain's summit by the hand of a child, rushes down- 
ward by its own momentum; but the strength of 



PULPIT AND PEW. 169 

a giant cannot roll it back. Evil, unlike wine, 
does not improve by age. The mischief which 
Jeroboam did in Israel lasted through twenty 
generations, and it increased in intensity until, 
like the fire in the prairie, it died out because 
there was nothing left to feed it. 

Next to the prayer for the loving spirit of our 
Saviour, the one thing needed by every congre- 
gation is Christian harmony. To insure this har- 
mony, this "unity of spirit in the bond of peace," 
each one must sometimes make sacrifice of feel- 
ings and preferences. Each should remember 
that he may not always be right, and that others 
have the same privileges which he claims for him- 
self. Let each one agree to bear with the weak- 
nesses and failings of others, for all have infirmi- 
ties. No one can know the motives by which 
others are actuated; nor can he say that he would 
not act as they do, unless he was perfectly ac- 
quainted with all the circumstances which sur- 
round them. 

Brotherly love is a godlike affection. It is the 
distinguishing trait of a Christian, and is the 
foundation of all true Christian fellowship. "Be 
of one mind," says Paul. This unity of spirit is 
the bond that solidifies a congregation and makes 
it strong. Union is strength; disunion is defeat 
and disaster. How, then, can a Church meet the 
great foe, with its armor all battered by internal 
conflicts? 

In the language of Dr. Murphy, "These 



170 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Church strifes destroy all true happiness in the 
minds of those who are agitated by them; 
they grieve away the Holy Spirit, to whose peace- 
ful influences they are so much opposed; they 
lead to the most lamentable divisions and aliena- 
tions between those who were once dear to each 
other in Christian fellowship; they rend asunder 
Churches and make incurable breaches in house- 
holds; they dishonor religion and expose it to the 
contempt of the world; and they inflict deep 
wounds upon Christ, of which he may bitterly 
complain as having received in the house of his 
friends." 

The enmity of the world against Christianity 
is so deep that Church-members cannot afford to 
give any just grounds for an increase of that 
state of feeling. The good name of a Church is 
its greatest power. It is a sacred trust committed 
to the membership. With such a name a Church 
is irresistible; without it, it is weak and will be 
despised. A Church shorn of it, like a maiden who 
has lost her virtue, is an object not only of pity, but 
of scorn and of contempt. Then, be it the ambition 
of every Church-member to preserve untarnished 
the good name of the congregation with which he 
is identified. In other words, let every congre- 
gation in Christendom heed the admonition of 
the Apostle of the Gentiles : "Now I beseech you, 
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that ye all speak the same thing, and that there 
be no divisions among you; but that ye be per- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 171 

fectly joined together in the same mind and in 
the same judgment." (1 Cor. i. 10.) 

In this connection it may not be out of place 
to add, parenthetically, a word of caution and ad- 
monition to the ministry. Under no circum- 
stances should the preacher permit himself to be 
connected with these Church strifes as a partisan. 
There is a special scriptural injunction which 
forbids such a thing: "The servant of the Lord 
must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt 
to teach, patient." (2 Tim. ii. 24.) "Brethren, if 
a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are 
spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of 
meekness; considering thyself, lest thou be also 
tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so 
fulfill the law of Christ,"(Eph.vi.l,2.) The minister, 
therefore, who would lend his name and influence 
for the purpose of engendering and fostering 
such strifes is basely unworthy of his profession, 
and deserves the righteous indignation of all good 
men. 

On this very point John Wesley speaks "the 
words of truth and soberness." Says he, "O 
beware, I will not say of forming, but of counte- 
nancing or abetting, any parties in a Christian 
Society. Meddle not with them that are given to 
dispute — with them that love contention. Follow 
peace with all men, without which you cannot 
effectually follow holiness. Be not content not to 
stir up strife, but do every thing possible to pre- 
vent or quench the very first part of it. It is far 



172 PULPIT AND PEW. 

easier to prevent the flame from breaking out 
than to quench it afterward." 

6. They must read the literature of the Church — 
must be well-informed as to doctrines, polity, etc. 

It is the imperative duty of every Christian to 
unite with some branch of the Church of Christ. 
But as to which one of the "many members" of 
"one body" a person should join, it is not the 
province of this little book to attempt to decide. 
Suffice it to say, uniting with a Church is a matter 
of serious moment, and each one should remember 
that his or her usefulness may be, yea, will be, 
greatly enhanced or curtailed by this step; for 
much depends upon a proper choice in this matter, 
inasmuch as no one can be happy or efficient in a 
Church whose doctrines and polity do not accord 
with his views of Bible-teaching. But having, 
by proper investigation, settled the question as to 
which one of these organizations it is his or her 
duty to join, it then becomes a matter of the 
highest Christian obligation to be efficient in that 
Church. It is next to impossible, however, for 
any one to attain to a high degree of usefulness 
and efficiency without a knowledge of the doc- 
toines and polity of the organization to which he 
belongs. There is but one way to gain this 
information accurately, and that is by reading 
the religious literature of that Church. A bitter 
sectarianism is to be deprecated; but an intelli- 
gent denominationalism is to be commended. 



PULPIT AND PEW. ■ 173 

Fixed principles are as essential to an efficient 
Church-membership as they are to a correct civil 
citizenship. The soldier who would as soon fight 
under one flag as another is not worth his rations. 
The citizen who considers any other government 
as good as his own, is of but little value to any. 
The physician who believes that all "paihies" are 
equally deserving, and is ready to practice either 
according to the wishes of his patients, might 
just as well close his office. And the Church- 
member who has as much love and attachment 
for any other denomination as for his own is un- 
worthy the denomination which has the misfor- 
tune to claim him. 

A religious literature is of immense service to 
every Christian, whether old or young. True, 
the Bible is the Book of books, and should, under 
no circumstances, be supplanted. But we must 
not imitate the Caliph Omar, who committed the 
great library of Alexandria to the flames, under 
the idea that if the books contained only what 
was approved by the Koran, they were useless; 
if what was contrary to it, they were pernicious. 
]STow, if the literature of a denomination contains 
no other religious truth than that found in the 
Bible, it is, nevertheless, of inestimable value, for 
it explains and enforces that which is in the 
Bible, according to the honest convictions of the 
Church which prepares that literature. It is to 
the Scriptures what the gas pipes of a city are to 
the great reservoir — affords the media through 



174 PULPIT AND PEW. 

which light is conveyed to thousands of homes 
which would otherwise be comparatively dark 
and cheerless. 

A very wise man once said, "If you will per- 
mit me to write the songs of a nation, I care not 
who may make its laws." With equal truth a 
bold and vigorous author may say, "If you will 
permit me to write the religious literature of a 
Church, I care not who may formulate its Disci- 
plines and Confessions of Faith." The influence 
of such a literature upon the membership is truly 
wonderful. It is to the mind and heart what 
food is to the body — forming, shaping, developing, 
the mental and moral man just as temporal food 
does the physical man. Indeed, no one who has 
properly reflected upon the subject, will call in 
question the statement that the religious litera- 
ture of a denomination does more to mold and 
unify the opinions of the membership than do its 
pulpits. A truth printed is more effective than a 
truth spoken, for the simple reason that so many 
more can enjoy it. The latter is gold dust which, 
though genuine, cannot circulate over a large 
area; the former is that same dust coined, and has 
"no pent-up Utica," but- "passes" everywhere. 
Such literature, too, not only greatly aids in de- 
veloping Church-members into the "stature of 
perfect men and women in Christ Jesus," but it 
enables them to exert a much more powerful in- 
fluence upon the world — prepares them to defend 
the cause of Christ. Infidels appreciate the idea 



PULPIT AND PEW. 175 

suggested; for by diligently reading their own 
publications, they familiarize themselves with the 
weapons which they are expected to employ, and 
are ever ready to assault or defend. Christians 
need a similar preparation from their own arsenal 
of spiritual truth; and the Church, in the provi- 
dence of God, has formulated the arguments 
needed to meet those who vex our common Zion. 
Armed and equipped with these weapons, "one 
can chase a thousand, and two can put ten thou- 
sand to flight." It is likewise true, that they are 
the most efficient in their own particular denomi- 
nation who are the best-informed in relation to 
their distinctive theological tenets. For, as has 
been intimated, no one should become a member 
of a Church without resolving to do all in his 
power to advance the interests of that denomina- 
tion. To accomplish this work he must not only 
know what that Church believes, but what it pro- 
poses to do. Political parties acknowledge a similar 
necessity for their respective adherents ; for they, 
by the circulation of papers, speeches, etc., at- 
tempt to disseminate the information that will 
make each man a more earnest supporter. And 
although these efforts are often carried to excess, 
yet there is good accomplished by them — each 
party knows more about its friends, more about 
its opponents, more about politics in general — in 
a word, the people are instructed, and they are 
more capable of intelligent and efficient action. 
Now, v, hat these parties have done for their fol- 



176 PULPIT AND PEW. 

lowers in politics, the different denominations of 
Christendom have done for their adherents in re- 
ligious faith. And although this denominational 
literature, like the political, is obnoxious to criti- 
cism, yet no one can doubt that it has done great 
good. While a part of this literature may be — 
yea, ought to be — so tinged w T ith denominational- 
ism as to prevent its adaptation to any except to 
the membership of that particular Church, yet 
the greater part is so Catholic in its spirit and 
utterances that its whole tendency is to religious 
rather than to denominational advancement. 
Hence, while such literature strengthens one's 
attachment for his own ecclesiastical household, 
it at the same time urges him onward and upward 
in the divine life. 

Another material advantage in such a literature 
is, it displaces that which is most pernicious in 
its tendency. Solomon says, "Of the making of 
books there is no end"; and, unfortunately for the 
human race, there are bad books as well as good 
ones — books which poison the mind and corrupt 
the heart — books which drag the soul down to 
hell instead of lifting it up to heaven. The 
writers of them are the most debased of mortals; 
and it would be just as impossible to read their 
books without being contaminated as it would be 
to associate with them without being denied. To 
the youth these productions are especially dan- 
gerous; and when a taste for them has been cul- 
tivated, it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossi- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 177 

ble, to displace them with a, pure and innocent 
literature. Christian parents, therefore, cannot 
afford to withhold from their children such read- 
ing-matter as will tend to improve the mind, re- 
fine the taste, and purify the heart; and the 
Church is the principal source to which they must 
look for this supply. The best thoughts of our 
greatest men are stored away in books. God, 
himself, whose resources are infinite, saw proper 
to communicate his will to man through a book. 

In addition to the negative good of which we 
have just spoken, there is beyond doubt a positive 
good wrought by a religious literature. JSTo one 
can read a good book, tract, or paper without 
being benefited — just as impossible to do so as it 
is to drink pure water and eat wholesome food 
without feeling their effects upon the physical 
system, Hundreds of instances might be given 
to verify this statement, but such details would 
be out of place in this little book. We cannot, 
however, forbear giving the following, which is 
obtained from an authentic source: 

Eichard Baxter was led to Christ through the 
instrumentality of a tract brought to his father's 
door in a peddler's pack. One of his works, " The 
Saints 2 Best," was instrumental in the conversion 
of Philip Doddridge. "The Eise and Progress of 
Eeligion in the Soul," written by Doddridge, was 
blessed to the salvation of William Wilberforce. 
"The Practical Yiew," by the latter, led Thomas 
Chalmers and Legh Eichmond to the Saviour. 
12 



178 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Chalmers became one of the brightest stars that 
ever adorned the ministry ; and Richmond wrote 
"The Dairyman's Daughter," a tract which has 
been translated into more than fifty different lan- 
guages, and, no doubt, has led thousands upon 
thousands to the Cross. 

The foregoing paragraph of itself is sufficient 
to prompt every Christian not only to read but 
to circulate his Church -literature. But when the 
facts just related are taken in connection with 
the arguments previously presented, and when to 
all these are added the personal experiences and 
observations of every one who reads these pages, 
the reasons therefor are overwhelming. Parents, 
then, who love their children, and desire their 
salvation, cannot afford to be indifferent upon this 
momentous subject. A bad book, newspaper, or 
magazine is as dangerous to children as vicious 
associates — yea, they are more so; for personal 
influence is limited by time and place, while a 
vile book goes everywhere, and never dies, The 
reader may return toit again and again; it does 
its work in secret, and where the arm of the law 
cannot strike it down. Such publications, like 
spirituous liquors, afford neither nourishment nor 
medicine — they are poison. Both intoxicate — one 
the mind; the other the body. The desire for 
each increases, too, by being fed, and is never 
satisfied. Never, perhaps, in the world's history 
were the dangers to youth, from this cause, so 
great as at this time; and parents should be on 



PULPIT AND PEW, . 179 

their guard against one of the worst enemies 
that can meet their children. Never should they 
permit an impure publication to be brought into 
their homes, and placed before their offspring. 
Hungry lambs will eat poison; but if well fed on 
good food, they let poison alone. 

In reference to the importance of religious 
newspapers, we feel that it would be difficult to 
speak with too much vehemence. All denomina- 
tions have them; and they are the channels 
through which each one of these denominations 
speaks to its own membership, to each other, and 
to the world. The Church-member, therefore, who 
refuses to avail himself of the advantages of a 
newspaper published in the interests of his own 
ecclesiastical household, is, to use the mildest ex- 
pression, not to be envied for his sound judgment 
or religious devotion. Such a member says by 
his action that he prefers darkness to light — pre- 
fers that himself and his family shall be in utter 
ignorance as to what his Church is doing. And 
(we again speak parenthetically) the minister of 
the gospel who will not use his influence to have 
his labors supplemented by such an auxiliary as 
a good religious newspaper affords, is either too 
ignorant to preach, too indolent to do good, or too 
self-conceited to ask for assistance from man or God! 

Want of pecuniary ability, we know, is often 
urged as a reason why many do not take a re- 
ligious newspaper; but such an excuse is utterly 
untrue in nine cases out of ten. There are very 



180 PULPIT AND PEW. 

few, if any, Christian families in this broad land 
who are too poor to take such a paper. Less than 
one cent a day, set apart for that purpose, will fur- 
nish a family with that " royal visitor," who will 
come into the household and preach its timely 
sermons — sermons prepared by many of the most 
able and gifted pens in the Church — sermons 
which are indispensable to Christian efficiency — 
sermons which instruct and edify — sermons which 
may not only deter the young from a life of 
shame, but lead them to the Cross of Christ. In- 
stead, then, of there being many Christian families 
in any denomination that are too poor to take a 
religious newspaper, there are few that are not too 
poor to be without it. Those who do take such a 
paper are not only the best-informed in regard to 
what the denomination to which they belong is 
doing, but they are the ones who sustain and 
foster the benevolent work of the Church — sup- 
port- the ministry, endow institutions of learning, 
and sustain the missionary cause. Not a denomi- 
nation in Christendom, perhaps, has ever suc- 
ceeded in inducing one-half of its Christian house- 
holds to patronize their own religious papers ; yet 
we venture the assertion that those who do take 
these papers give nine-tenths of all the money that 
is contributed in the respective denominations to 
which they belong. Hence, then, such a publica- 
tion is indispensable to intelligent Christian use- 
fulness ; and for a member of the Church to re- 
fuse to take such a paper, when he is pecuniarily 



PULPIT AND PEW. 181 

able to do so (and there are very few who are not) 
virtually declares that he chooses to know nothing 
of the plans and operations of his Church, and 
chooses to he a cipher in the organization to which 
he belongs. 

7. They must scrupulously guard the good name 
and reputation of their minister. 

The minister of the gospel is the vicegerent of 
Christ — is his ambassador through whom he 
speaks to his Church. He is, likewise, the me- 
dium through which the Church speaks to the 
world. If he occupied the position of a private 
Christian it would be demanding too much to re- 
quire special duties toward him. But he is not 
simply a private Christian ; for, in the perform- 
ance of his official duties, the interests of the 
Church to which he ministers are involved not 
only in the aggregate but in the individuality of its 
membership. In other words, though he serves 
an organization, yet the spiritual welfare of every 
member thereof is connected with his ministry. 
This being true, we see the necessity, yea, the 
absolute necessity, of guarding, with the utmost 
vigilance, the reputation of him who occupies so 
important a position. The good name of a min- 
ister is one of the essential elements to his useful- 
ness. With it he is as strong as a giant; with- 
out it he is as weak as an infant. "With it he is a 
David with his sling; without it he is a Samson 
with his locks shorn. 



182 PULPIT AND PEW. 

As the minister of the gospel proclaims him- 
self the opponent of all sin and the advocate of 
all morality, he lays himself liable not only to 
the assaults of Satan, but to the attacks of un- 
godly men. Being, by virtue of his office, a rec- 
ognized leader in the grand army of Christ, he 
becomes a prominent target at which the sharp- 
shooters of Satan's cohorts discharge their deadly 
weapons. No purity of character exempts the 
minister from these envenomed missiles. Indeed, 
the more elevated he is in this respect the more 
violent and persistent are the assaults which are 
made upon him. The enemies of Christianity 
now, as was the case eighteen centuries ago, pre- 
fer Barabbas to Christ. Nothing delights them 
so much as to be able to wound the officer who 
leads the charge made upon their fortifications. 
Nor will they scruple to descend to the vilest 
depths of infamy, provided there is a bare possi- 
bility of accomplishing their diabolical purposes. 
It is, therefore, the imperative duty of the mem- 
bership to guard with constant vigilance the 
reputation of their minister. His good name, to 
a great extent, is in their keeping; and they 
would be recreant to the sacred trust committed 
to them, as well as to their own interests, if they 
were to refuse to defend, "at all hazards and to 
the last extremity," the reputation of their 
preacher when unjustly assailed by the vile 
emissaries of the devil. 

But, lamentable to say, he is liable to attacks 



PULPIT AND PEW. 183 

not only from the inveterate foes of the cause 
which he serves, but, likewise, from those of his 
own Christian household. It is true, the weapons 
employed by professed infidels differ in kind from 
those used by these " household-enemies." Those 
of the former are aimed at moral character; those 
of the latter strike at ministerial usefulness. But 
it is likewise true that they differ in results — the 
latter being much more destructive. Indeed, the 
saying has grown into an aphorism that "a man's 
worst enemies may be those of his own house- 
hold." This is especially true in regard to the 
sacred ministry. The blessed Saviour so found 
it; so did the apostles; and we assert a fact which 
no thoughtful observer will controvert, when we 
say that the same is true of the gospel ministry 
of this age. "We have neither the time nor space 
to give in detail the different ways by which a 
minister's good name and usefulness may be in- 
jured by his membership. But as the chief 
method is by that of the tongue — improper con- 
versation, unkind criticism, fault-finding — this 
fact is deemed a sufficient apology for passing by 
the less, and devoting a few pages to the greater. 
The golden rule — " Do unto others as ye would 
have them do unto you" — has a depth of mean- 
ing not usually thought of by many who flip- 
pantly repeat it; for it embraces words as well as 
actions. That is, we are not only to do unto 
others as we would that they should do unto us, 
but we are to speak of others as we would have 



184 PULPIT AND PEW. 

them speak of us. But notwithstanding the 
Saviour himself is the author of this rule of 
Christian ethics, yet many Church-members have 
either overlooked it, or else refuse to acknowledge 
its binding force. They not only talk too much, 
but they say improper things. The order to 
which they belong is not a new one, for Paul met 
it, face to face, in the Church at Rome; and he 
gave to the members of it the very appropriate 
name, " whisperers." He, however, not only de- 
nounced the order, and placarded it in that infa- 
mous companionship to which it belongs — "envy, 
murder, deceit, malignity "; but he placed the mem- 
bers thereof in the proper category — "backbiters, 
haters of God, boasters, inventors of evil things, 
covenant breakers, implacable, unmerciful." 
Thanks to inspiration and to Paul for that word, 
"whisperer"; for it is not only appropriate, but 
significant — describes the characters fully whom 
we are condemning; for the most of their mis- 
chievous work is done by "whispering." They do 
not generally talk loud; nor do they often make 
a direct charge. They abound in winks, hints, 
and innuendoes; and "whisper" solemn expressions 
as to what they "fear may be true." Many of 
this class are very pious in look and appearance; 
yet there is a lurking vulture in their hearts, and 
they scent tales of slander from afar. In his 
Epistle to Timothy, Paul further describes them 
as wandering from house to house — "idlers, tattlers, 
busybodies " — that is it. They are Satan's colport- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 185 

eurs, retailing slander from place to place, and 
preaching a message of defamation instead of 
salvation — a gospel of suspicion and ill-will, 
instead of one of trust and brotherly charity. 
The only redeeming feature in reference to them 
is that their number is comparatively small; but 
one such is too many. 

In addition to the class just described there is 
another which, though not so mischievously 
wicked, is nevertheless very injurious to the cause 
of Christ. We allude to a class variously desig- 
nated as "critics," "fault-finders," "grumblers," 
etc. They are a great annoyance to the organiza- 
tion of which they are a part, but especially so to 
the minister. jSTothing scarcely that he does 
pleases them. From the time he begins his labors 
with the congregation to which they belong, un- 
til those labors terminate, they criticise almost 
every thing he does — dress, gesture, elocution, ser- 
mons, manners, pastoral visits, etc., etc. — all, all 
come in for their full share. iSTor do they seem 
to have any discretion as to time or place in 
making these criticisms — at their own firesides, 
before their own children, in the presence of 
members of other Christian communions, before 
the ungodly — anywhere and everywhere! In the 
custody of such members it is scarcely necessary 
to say, that the good name of a minister is not 
safe. Their unkind words, like the scorching 
winds of the desert, go forth upon their mission, 
and blast the field which he had sowed with 



186 PULPIT AND PEW. 

"weeping," and which he had hoped to reap with 
"rejoicing." Of course, every minister has his 
imperfections; and in the conduct of the best 
there will be occasional faults which may demand 
criticism. But, for the sake of the good name of 
the minister, for the sake of the salvation of sin- 
ners, for the sake of our holy religion, and for the 
sake of the proprieties and decencies of Christian 
politeness, let these defects be pointed out to the 
preacher and to him alone, and let it be done, too, 
in a kind and fraternal spirit. The method, how- 
ever, which these "fault-finders" invariably adopt 
is the despicable one of proclaiming these faults 
to all others except to the minister. To such 
members, nothing is more appropriate than the 
fable of <;The Bell Clapper." The bell in which 
it hung was cracked, and the clapper was always 
complaining of its sad fate for being connected 
with such a bell. A great many good people 
pitied the clapper, and condoled with its sad lot. 
At length the spirit of Diogenes, the old cynic, 
who could not endure shams of any kind, came 
along. He heard of the clapper's complaint, and 
said : " Before you make any more fuss about the 
bell, remember two things : First, you cracked it; 
and second, no one would know that it was 
cracked if you did not tell it." 

Now, if a few members of a Church were to 
try, every Sabbath, by some kind of noise, to 
drown out the minister's voice, or, by some 
counter attraction or interruption, to turn the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 187 

thoughts of the people away from the solemn words 
which he utters, we would not only deprive them 
of membership, but we would hand them over to 
the civil authorities for punishment. But is not 
this a similar case? Do not those "fault-finders," 
who spend their lives in saying disparaging things 
of their minister, virtually drown out his voice 
and rob his words of much of their solemn force, 
so far as their influence extends? It is strange, 
we admit, that they can get their consent to en- 
gage in a practice so disreputable to themselves 
and so dishonoring to religion. But, lamentable 
to say, they do it. It would be better, infinitely 
better, to pursue a diametrically opposite course — 
better err on the side of charity. The truth is, 
they cannot afford to bolt the doors of their own 
hearts, and those of others, so far as they have 
influence, against the kindly offices of one who is 
striving to do good to them, to their children, and 
to their neighbors. 

The character of a gospel minister is his most 
sacred treasure; and the membership that would 
have him a blessing to themselves and to the 
world must guard his good name as a mother 
does the virtue of her daughter. Instead, then, 
of injuring his usefulness by saying improper 
things, how much better would it be to increase 
his usefulness by saying kind and encouraging 
things!. It is a fact which no thoughtful man 
will controvert, that a minister's success depends 
almost as much upon what is said of him as on 



188 PULPIT AND PEW. 

what he does. His influence in a community may 
be "talked" into twice its power for good, or it 
may be " talked " into a mere cipher. No difference 
how earnestly he may labor, it is possible, by in- 
discreet remarks, to make his ministerial life al- 
most a failure. On the contrary, it is possible, 
by words "fitly spoken," to enable him, like Paul, 
to "magnify his office." 

Then, let these Church "grumblers" cease their 
unholy work. They themselves have a thousand 
faults and imperfections which their minister and 
others have overlooked or excused. Indeed, all 
have them, and all need the kind offices of that 
broad Christian charity which is so highly com- 
mended in the Scriptures. Besides, there are 
some things which cannot be corrected, and it is 
not best to even speak of them. Paul told the 
Hebrews of Noah's faith ; but he never said one 
word about his planting a vineyard and of his 
becoming "drunken" on the wine which was the 
product of that vineyard. He also spoke of 
Eahab's faith; but he did not speak of the 
terrible falsehood which she told. The truth is, 
the Church, like the family, may have some 
secrets which it Were best not to publish abroad. 
The world will not be benefited by them. 

We do not wish to be misunderstood. We have 
neither cloak nor apology for those in the minis- 
try who are basely unworthy of their profession, 
for they should be shaken from the Church as 
Paul did the viper from his arm; but we would 



PULPIT AND PEW. 189 

have a true and worthy minister protected in his 
reputation from unrighteous assaults, whether 
made by the ungodly or by professing Christians. 
While we believe that a Judas should be sent to 
"his own place," we see no reason why the malig- 
nant persecutors of God's faithful ministers 
should not share the same fate. Whose business 
is it, except the preacher's, as to what store he 
trades at, which physician he employs, or what 
woman he marries? Surely no one can deny 
that the minister should be protected from those 
envious, jealous, tattling members who are ever 
pursuing him as the Scribes and Pharisees did 
the blessed Saviour. Indeed, the membership can- 
not afford to thus mistreat their minister. In the 
providence of Grod he is their leader, their chief 
earthly reliance for building them up — for devel- 
oping the Christian graces in their own lives, and 
for leading their children and others to Christ. 
They, therefore, for their own interests, for those 
of their children, and for those of the outside world, 
cannot, we repeat, afford to have their minister 
denuded of his ministerial power and influence. 

8, They must be liberal in their contributions to 
the cause of religion. 

No one can thoughtfully read the Bible, nor 
the history of the Church in past ages, without 
coming to the conclusion that there is a most in- 
timate relationship between money and religion. 
They have ever been, and, in the Divine economy, 



190 PULPIT AND PEW. 

they ever will be, mutual helpers. True, religion is 
not in itself materialistic; but the most wonder- 
ful materialistic results have always followed in 
its wake. In other words, religion opens out the 
avenues of wealth; and wealth, in its turn, gives 
facilities for the progress of religion. Wherever 
the gospel exists, like the great Archimedian 
lever, it "moves the world" — not only inspires 
the soul with desires for a higher and better state, 
but awakens the mightiest energies for every en- 
nobling human enterprise. Money, then, is one 
of the great factors, both in the evangelization 
and civilization of the human race. Nor would 
it, perhaps, be stating the case too strongly to say 
that, with the present economy, it is indispensable 
to both. God has created wealth, not because he 
himself needed it, but because of the great bene- 
fits which it may subserve. The man, therefore, 
who adds no material value to society is a pauper — 
a pauper not only in a temporal, but in a spiritual 
sense. Such a character, if physicially able to do 
better, is of but little worth, either to God or man ; 
and the only remedy, if he will not reform, is to 
deal with him as the dresser of the vineyard was 
directed to do with the "barren fig-tree " — " cut it 
down; why cumbereth it the ground?" 

Having made these preliminary statements, we 
proceed to briefly assign a few reasons, out of the 
many that might be given, to enforce Christian 
liberality. 

The Bible clearly teaches that Christians are 



PULPIT AND PEW. 191 

.God's stewards. The statement may "be denied, 
forgotten, or disregarded; still it is forever true 
that we are not the owners, in an absolute sense, 
of that which we claim as ours. On our time, 
talents, influence, property— on all that we have 
and are — the finger of Jehovah has written, "Oc- 
cupy till I come." God created all things; there- 
fore his claim is not only a prior, but an absolute 
one. His are all the "beasts of the forest," and 
"the cattle uj)on a thousand hills." The same is 
true of all the silver, of all the gold, and of all the 
merchandise which have been intrusted to man. 
If not, let any one name, if he can, a single good 
thing which he can certainly claim will be his to- 
morrow. Not a single thing can be named. He, 
therefore, who has nothing which he can hold a 
single day, has nothing except what he holds 
simply as an agent. To whom, then, do they be- 
long? There is but one answer; they are the 
Lord's. And what was the Lord's at first, because 
he made it, he has carefully watched over and 
preserved. Not merely could man have had 
nothing, if God had not made it; but he could 
have kept nothing, if God had not preserved it. 
At any moment, therefore, God has a perfect 
right to say, " Give an account of thy steward- 
ship; for thou mayest be no longer steward." 
Time and again, too, has God asserted his abso- 
lute claim to the property of the world. Once, 
by a sudden and fearful dispensation, he displaced 
every tenant that had ever occupied the earth, 



192 PULPIT AND PEW. 

providing beforehand, timely and amply, for the 
single family that he loved, and whom by cove- 
nant he had adopted as his own. Surely none can 
be so impious as to assert that he went beyond 
his own dominions to lay waste a world that was 
the property of another. When he burned the 
"cities of the plain," he only asserted, though 
loudly and fearfully, his own rights; and pressed 
home to the bosom and the conscience, of friend 
and foe, his claim to be served and honored, in 
every valley that he had made fertile, and by 
every people whom his kindness had made pros- 
perous. The truth, then, of the Christian's 
stewardship is beyond a peradventure. And as 
it is a bad sign to see the agent of a wealthy man 
growing rich while his employer's interests are 
not advancing, is it not equally so in reference to 
the cause of religion? To all such the words of 
our Saviour are especially solemn and alarming — 
"Inasmuch as ye did it not." It is not needful 
to our condemnation that we use our wealth for 
positively evil ends — that we squander it in dis- 
sipation, in spreading error, or in corrupting our 
fellow-men — it is only necessary, as God teaches, 
not to use it for doing good, not to use it as faith- 
ful stewards of the great Giver, not to use it as 
God directs; for this is the "hiding of the talent 
in the napkin," and will incur the doom of the 
"wicked and slothful servant." 

In the next place, the cause of religion demands 
such liberality. True, the kingdom of Christ is, 



PULPIT AND PEW. 193 

in its essence, a spiritual kingdom; but, like the 
human soul, it needs and must have, a body — a 
material organization — through which this inner 
life is manifested. That body is the Church. 
The word Church is used in its broadest sense, 
embracing not only its membership, but its build- 
ings, its ministry, its Sabbath-schools, its litera- 
ture, etc., etc. These are indispensable to effi- 
ciency; and surely it demands no labored argu- 
ment to convince any reflecting mind that it re- 
quires money, and no small amount either, to 
meet these necessary expenses. Human govern- 
ments are kept up at an immense cost; and the 
citizens of these governments are subjected to 
heavy taxes to meet these necessary outlays. No 
member of one of these commonwealths, if he_ 
will reflect for a moment, can call in question 
either the propriety or the necessity of such de- 
mands upon him; for he knows that without 
these taxes his commonwealth could not exist. 
Legislative halls, court-houses, prisons, public 
highways, etc., etc., must be built, and the 
"officers of the law" must be compensated for 
their services; and no one, who is not a heathen 
or an outlaw, thinks it at all burdensome to pay 
money in return for the advantages which he en- 
joys in the protection of person, property, etc., 
from this "governmental machinery." In a word, 
no earthly government could exist for a day with- 
out money or its equivalent; and the same is true 
of the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. 
13 



194 PULPIT AND PEW. 

It is, too, a wise provision of our Heavenly Father 
that these things are so; because, constituted as 
we are, it is next to impossible for us to appre- 
ciate, as we should, any blessing or comfort which 
costs us nothing. Even, then, if it could have 
been done, it would have been a great calamity 
for the Church to have been so organized as to 
have exempted its members from contributing 
labor, time, money, etc., to its upbuilding and ex- 
pansion. The true measure of our devotion to an 
object is what we are ready to give for it. Until 
we make sacrifices for a cause, we furnish no 
proof that the cause has the sympathy of our 
hearts. We do not really know to what extent 
we love a friend unless we are called upon to 
choose between his welfare and something that we 
very much dislike to surrender. No loving or 
giving is worth any thing that does not involve a 
readiness for sacrifice'and self-denial. Thanks to 
a merciful Providence, however, the Church has 
not been so organized as to relieve its member- 
ship of the duty and necessity of making contri- 
butions in its behalf. On the contrary, God has 
said to each one of his children, " Honor the Lord 
with thy substance." No Christian, then, can for 
a moment think of the vast work to be done, and 
yet doubt his obligations to give "as God has 
prospered him." 

Moreover, it is to the pecuniary interest of 
Christians to thus contribute. The Bible teaches 
that giving to the cause of religion, like keeping 



PULPIT AND PEW. 195 

the Sabbath, has its own reward. The seventh 
part of our time, and a certain portion of our in- 
come, belong to G-od. We may appropriate both 
to our own use, but if we do, we suffer loss in 
temporal as well as in spiritual blessings. Now, 
why it is that if a Christian shall give a liberal 
part of his income to God, he will be more pros- 
perous in temporal things than if he kept or tried 
to keep the whole, we may not be able to explain 
to the satisfaction of all. But whether this can 
be done or not, the fact remains, and that is what 
particularly concerns us. That this is God's own 
teaching, the following scriptures clearly prove: 

"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with 
the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy 
barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall 
burst out with new wine." (Prov. iii. 9, 10.)* 

"There is that scattereth and yet increascth; 
and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, 
but it ten deth to poverty. The liberal soul shall 
be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered 
also himself." (Prov. xi. 24, 25.) 

"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 
and satisfy the afiiicted soul, then shall thy light 
shine, in obscurity, and thy darkness bo as noon- 
day; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, 
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy 
bones; and thou shalt be watered like a garden, 
and the springs of water whose waters fail not." 
(Is. lviii. 10,11.) 

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, 



196 PULPIT AND PEW. 

that there may be meat in my house; and prove 
me now, herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I 
will not open you the windows of heaven and 
pour you out a blessing that there shall not be 
room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke 
the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not 
destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall 
the vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, 
saith the Lord of hosts." (Mai. iii. 10,11 .) 

"Give, and it shall be given unto you — good 
measure, pressed down, shaken together and run- 
ning over, shall men give into your bosom. For 
with the same measure you mete withal it shall 
be measured to you again." (Luke vi. 38.) 

"I have showed you all things, how that so 
laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to re- 
member the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 
(Acts xx. 35.) 

"Every man as he purposeth in his heart, so let 
him give; not grudgingly or of necessity; for 
God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to 
make all grace (the word 'grace' here refers to 
temporal blessings) abound toward you; that ye 
always, having all sufficiency in all things, may 
abound to every good work." (2 Cor. ix. 7, 8.) 

Many other passages of similar import might 
be produced, but these are sufficient. If, how- 
ever, Revelation were silent upon the subject, 
Beason would teach us that God would take care 
of those who sustain his cause. Indeed, be it said 



PULPIT AND PEW. 107 

with the most profound reverence, God could not 
afford to let those suffer upon whom he relies to 
advance the interests of his Zion ; for if they were 
permitted to come to poverty, then his cause 
would make but little progress, if, indeed, it did 
not come to naught. Whithersoever we look, too, 
we see a verification of the sentiment insisted 
upon. The most prosperous Christians, both in 
spiritual and temporal matters, are those who 
contribute most liberally to the cause of religion. 
This fact has not escaped the notice of all observ- 
ing persons. Especially would this declaration 
be sustained by all who have acted as agents for 
raising money in their respective denominations. 
In a word, the accumulated testimony of all ages 
is to the same effect. Then why is it that Chris- 
tians will refuse to give, and to give liberally, too, 
when they have such assurances of God's bless- 
ings, provided they will do so? .No man, perhaps, 
can find a single exception to the fact that 
Heaven's benedictions are upon those who meet 
their obligations in this particular. 

Again, God positively requires these contribu- 
tions. "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be 
blessed" — "Trust in the Lord, and do good" — 
"Whosoever hath this world's goods, and seeth 
his brother have need, and shutteth his bowels of 
compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of 
God in him," etc., etc. 

The Bible abounds with similar passages, but 
want of space prevents their insertion. And in 



198 PULPIT AND PEW. 

addition to these positive commands we have the 
examples of the purest and best characters whose 
lives are recorded in the Scriptures — Noah, Abra- 
ham, Job, Cornelius, etc., etc. Indeed, the first 
act of homage paid to the blessed Saviour was in 
the form of "gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh." 
Not only has God made this demand in lan- 
guage which cannot be misunderstood, and by 
the example of the purest and best of his servants, 
in eveiy age of the world ; but likewise by the 
judgments which he has visited upon the human 
race because his demands in this particular have 
not been complied with. Time and again did he 
punish, in the severest manner, the Jewish nation 
for a failure to meet their obligations in this par- 
ticular. Once + hey were sent into captivity for 
seventy years, during which time they endured 
the greatest suffering; and the principal sin for 
which they were so severely punished was for 
neglecting to pay their tithes. Think of it — 
seventy years of the severest hardships and suffer- 
ings of a whole nation — men, women, and chil- 
dren — principal^- because of neglect to honor God 
with the offerings which he demanded. But we 
are not to understand that the Jews were the 
only people who have received the chastisements 
of Heaven because of a failure to recognize the 
fact that God has a prior claim to the property of 
this world. In the ruin of the ancient mon- 
archies, God is seen in the attitude of asserting 
his claim. The people refused to recognize the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 199 

fact; and with pestilence, famine, war, etc., God 
wrenched from their hands the property with 
which they should have honored him. Indeed, 
who knows but that the aggregate of all the 
property lost by the various calamities which God 
has sent upon the children of men would have 
exactly met the claims which he had upon them? 
Had that wealth been expended as he demanded, 
who can say that these calamities would not have 
been averted? And who will dare say that the 
storms which now wreck our merchandise, the 
fires which now burn our cities, and the mis- 
named casualties which now destroy our private 
estates, are not so many claims put in by the 
rightful owner of all things? Who can say how 
much more prosperous this world might be if 
men would use their property as God would have 
them — how much more frequently the showers 
would fall — how much more fertile our soil — how 
much more healthful our population, if we were 
a better people, and served God more faithfully 
with our substance? These calamities are God's 
officers for collecting his demands; and if Chris- 
tians wait until they arc sent after them, they 
may expect to pay not only the principal but 
compound interest. Doubtless many who read 
these pages can refer to instances (it may be in 
their own case) where God collected his own bills 
by fire, storm, drought, dearth, etc.; nor did they 
fail to observe that the amount collected was 
"God's own with usury." Signal mercies, if mis- 



200 PULPIT AND PEW. 

used, must provoke signal judgments; and Chris- 
tians, if unfaithful to their high trust, will be 
made examples of God's sore displeasure. The 
truth is, in one sense, God is the controlling part- 
ner of every firm, and he can and will dispose of 
the assets as he pleases. No merchant or banker 
has a safe the combination of which God does not 
understand, and whenever he so determines he 
will unlock that vault and scatter its contents to 
the four winds of heaven. 

With these facts before us, where is the Chris- 
tian who can refuse to contribute to the cause of 
religion? His interests for time and eternity 
urge him to the discharge of the obligation. No 
child of God can hope to prosper spiritually or 
temporally who refuses to do so. Giving to the 
cause of God is an act of worship, as much so as 
prayer and praise. It is an act of worship, too, 
which is sure to be followed by the Divine bless- 
ing, for the promise is, "Them that honor me I 
will honor"; also, "Give, and it shall be given 
unto you; good measure, pressed down, and 
shaken together." Now, the amount to be given 
by each is a matter not definitely settled in the 
New Testament. With the Bible before us, how- 
ever, we feel authorized to say it should not be 
less than one-tenth. The Jews were required to 
give that amount; and this was demanded of 
them, too, when they were not required to look 
after the spiritual interests of any nation or 
people save themselves. It is different now, for 



PULPIT AND PEW. 201 

"the field is the world" — the whole family of 
man — and it would seem that the obligation to 
Christian liberality is thereby increased. Of one 
thing we maybe sure: no one ever lost by giving 
to God. There is, then, neither excuse nor pallia- 
tion for niggardly, penurious giving to the cause 
of Christ. Wealth, without God's blessing, is a 
curse. No millionaire is happy merely because 
he owns a million of dollars. What if a man 
owned California and Australia ; what would it 
all amount to when he died? The poor man with 
one dollar in his pocket is richer than the million- 
aire who died on yesterday. JS"o doubt the friends 
of the rich man who is spoken of in the New 
Testament wrote an elaborate epitaph upon his 
tombstone; but Cod wrote a very brief one — an 
epitaph of four letters — "Fool." Wealth cannot 
satisfy the immortal soul — like salt w^ater, the 
more one drinks of it the more thirsty he is. 
When Dives died, of what use was all his wealth 
to him? The poorest man who stood by the side 
of the road, watching the grand funeral proces- 
sion, owned more of this world than did the dead 
gormandizer. 

Let, then, e\ery Christian seriously consider 
his duty in this particular. Instead of accumu- 
lating property to curse his children, let him use 
that property to feed the hungry, clothe the 
naked, instruct the ignorant, and build up the 
cause of Christ. The principal difference between 
a liberal Christian and a penurious one is the 



202 PULPIT AND PEW. 

place in which they make their deposits. Tho 
latter puts his in the hands of man; the former 
in the hands of God — in the hands of Him whose 
assets are infinite — owns all the quarries, all the 
mines, all the gold, all the universe. 

The assertion is made with grief; but there are 
ministers (not many, thank Heaven) who really 
use their influence in trying to prevent their 
people from giving to any cause outside of their 
own congregational expenses. These preachers 
seem to think that every cent which their people 
give to "outside objects" is that much lost from 
their own salaries. Such men are absolutely 
either too ignorant or too sordid to be allowed to 
preach to any people, A minister who acts on 
such a principle ought to suffer — indeed, he ought 
not to be permitted to occupy the pulpit. Such 
a theory is not only at war with the requisitions 
of our holy religion, but with plain common 
sense. When the claims of duty are admitted in 
one direction, they sweep on until they cover the 
whole field. It is a fact to which there is no ex- 
ception, that the Church-members who give the 
most money to outside objects are always the 
most liberal in the support of their minister. 
The very worst policy, therefore, which a preacher 
can adopt for his own pecuniary interest is to 
countenance and encourage the withholding of 
contributions to other causes outside of his own 
charge. By so doing he contributes. his influence 
toward making his people as contemptibly selfish 



PULPIT AND PEW. 203 

and penurious as he is himself. And should he 
succeed, his own name and that of his members 
should be stricken^ from the roll — his from the 
roll-book of the ministry, and theirs from the 
roll-book of Churches ; for he and they will be an 
incubus to any denomination. 

9. They must be earnest and zealous in their lives. 

If Christianity is true — if there is a God, a 
Christ, a heaven, a hell — then the one believing 
it to be so is justified in exhibiting the utmost 
zeal in its behalf. One life only is appointed to 
us on earth to attend to the work on which our 
own everlasting life depends; and one life only is 
given to us in this world to meet the solemn obli- 
gations which we owe to others. There is no 
coming hither again to correct or amend what 
has been done amiss. Heaven and hell are for 
other work. The harvest presupposes the 
seed-time. It is now that we must sow, and it is 
hereafter that we must reap. It is now that we 
must work, and then that we must receive wages. 
Every Christian, therefore, should labor in this 
life as though the religion of Jesus Christ de- 
pended upon himself. The ministry must not 
leave the matter to the laity, nor the laity to the 
ministry. The rich must not intrust the work 
to the poor, nor the poor to the rich. All must 
work. Every soul that God has created has a 
sphere of usefulness. Every Christian on earth 
can throw some weight into the gospel scale. 



204 TULPIT AND PEW. 

Idleness is one of Satan's most efficient assistants. 
No created being was ever intended to spend his 
life in doing nothing. Work is the allotment of 
all God's creatures. The angels in heaven work — 
are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to 
them who shall become heirs of salvation." Adam 
in paradise was required to work — he was to 
"dress and keep" the garden of Eden. There- 
deemed saints in glory work — "they rest not day 
and night." Likewise every Christian must 
work, and that earnestly, too, else he will become 
a spiritual dwarf. Every thing around us teaches 
the same lesson. It is the still water which be- 
becomes stagnant and impure; the running 
streams are clear. An active, moving Christian 
is a difficult target for Satan to shoot at. In such 
a life there is no place in which to sow tares. In- 
deed, life is so short, that we cannot afford to lose 
any part of it in abortive efforts. When we be- 
come satisfied as to our individual work, it is true 
wisdom to begin it instantly, and to prosecute it 
with energy until it is completed. Christian in- 
dustry is the outlet of a fervent spirit, and of a 
Christ-devoted heart. The industry which is not 
fervent is not Christian; and, on the other hand, 
the love which does not develop itself in action 
will. soon wilt and die. He who has an eye to 
Christ in all that he does, and whose spirit is full 
of that energy, will never become weary in well- 
doing. The joys of religion are cultivated only 
by cultivating a love of its duties. Eeligious 



PULPIT AND PEW. 205 

feeling without religious action is a monstrosity — 
is like professed patriotism in the bosom of a 
coward. Pious impulses, when they do not lead 
to active duties, are hypocritical shams. The law 
of our religion is, "Not slothful in business, fer- 
vent in spirit, serving the Lord." Christianity 
demands something else besides mental abstrac- 
tions, "be they never so devout." The members 
of Christ's Church are to be " doers of the word, 
and not hearers only." The best Christians in the 
world are those who have the warmest hearts for 
God, and the most industrious hands for his serv- 
ice. The spirit and enjoyments of religion may, 
likewise, be carried into every lawful avocation. 
The harvest-field may be an altar, and the work- 
shop a sanctuary. The Christian can re-enact 
the story of the good Samaritan without visiting 
the highway which leads from Jerusalem to 
Jericho; and he can put Paul's zeal into his own 
life without journeying through Asia and Greece 
to Pome. 

One of the greatest wants of the Christianity 
of this day, is an unreserved consecration of the 
membership. With such a consecration, what 
could the present Church-membership do? rather 
what could it not do? Every one then would be 
a true soldier, armed and equipped for the service 
of his Master. If this world is ever to be sub- 
dued to Christ, it must be taken, not by siege, but 
by storm. The enemy cannot be starved out by 
cutting off his supplies; his fortifications must be 



206 PULPIT AND PEW. 

scaled, and his weapons wrenched from his 
clenched hand. The Christian, then, cannot 
afford to sit down and do nothing. Yet many 
seem to act as if all they had to do Avas to take 
passage on the grand old ship of Zion, sit down 
in the cabin, and make the voyage without effort. 
Instead of this, each one should consider himself 
a "deck " passenger — must "work" his way. Of 
course we do not mean that "works" will save 
the soul; but they will make the voyage more 
pleasant, safe, and profitable. 

It is in spiritual as in temporal warfare — the 
cowards are in the greatest danger. The safest 
and most honorable position for a soldier is in 
front. The skulking poltroons always endure 
the most suffering, and they deserve it. Timid 
Christians, like hot-house plants, are always de- 
fective in strength and vigor. The world needs 
a strong, robust, religion — a religion that feeds 
upon "strong meat" instead of upon the gruel of 
invalids. Indeed, a religion that does not prompt 
its possessor to work all the week as well as upon 
the Sabbath is not worth having; nor does it ac- 
complish any beneficial results. God does not in- 
tend that the Church shall be a dormitory in 
which Christians may quietly go to sleep, but he 
does intend that it shall be an arsenal in which 
they may polish and sharpen their spiritual 
weapons. 

It is a trite but true saying, "Better wear out 
than rust out." There is not an atom in the vast 



PULPIT AND PEW. 207 

universe that is idle — air, ocean, river, rill, all, all 
are in ceaseless motion. Yet they are for time; 
but the Christian for eternity. Their destiny is 
fixed for them; the Christian makes his own ac- 
cording to the work of his hands. Said a very 
terse writer of modern times, "Among the many 
impossibilities, there are three which I will men- 
tion: To overestimate the greatness of redeeming 
love; to overestimate the joys which God has 
prepared for those who love him; and to over- 
estimate the obligations which we are under to 
consecrate our time, our talents, and all that we 
have and are, to the promotion of God's glory 
and the happiness of our fellow-men. With such 
a consecration, no man has ever avowed, or ever 
can say, on a dying bed, that if he had his life to 
live over again, he would serve his Maker less 
zealously, and would do less for his fellow-man." 
In secular matters, none but the earnest and 
energetic succeed. The world not only respects 
a man of this kind, but it instinctively gets out 
of his way and gives him room. The same is 
true in religion. It is the earnest, zealous Chris- 
tian that accomplishes results. None have so 
much enjoyment of Christ as those who are con- 
stantly, and earnestly engaged in their '-Father's 
business" — zealous for his glory — full of anxiety 
about the souls of others — and ever watching, 
working, striving, to extend the Redeemer's 
kingdom upon earth. Such Christians live near 
the Cross, and their hearts are always warm, 



208 PULPIT AND PEW. 

They are not only the foundation stones, but the 
pillars of the organizations to which they be- 
long — yea, are the "few righteous" who save the 
Sodoms of this world. They are the ones who 
build churches, support preachers, endow colleges, 
sustain missions, and lead in all the grand benev- 
olent enterprises of the Church. This zeal, too, 
thanks be to our Heavenly Father, is contagious. 
It is sadly true that "one sinner destroy eth much 
good"; but it is likewise joyfully true that one 
zealous Christian can do much good. One single 
zealous man in a congregation is of inestimable 
value. He awakens Christian activities that, 
otherwise, would remain dormant, and opens 
many fountains which, without his influence, 
would remain forever sealed. There is a mine of 
truth in those words of the Apostle Paul to the 
Corinthians, "Your zeal hath provoked very 
many." (2 Cor. ix. 2.) 

It was the zeal upon which we are now insist- 
ing that enabled the early Christians to accom- 
plish such wonderful results. In what respect 
did the ability of the primitive Church differ 
from- that of the Christians of the present time? 
Had it greater wealth or intelligence, or more of 
any thing which we reckon under the denomina- 
tion of resources? Xo one can answer in the 
affirmative. All external advantages are de- 
cidedly in favor of the Christianity of this age. 
We have more knowledge than they; more 
wealth than they; greater facilities of intercourse 



PULPIT AND PEW. 209 

both by land and water than they; more religious 
liberty than they; more, in a word, of every thing 
than they, except religious zeal. Theirs was a 
rugged and dangerous road; for in it were 
arrayed the implements of torture and of death. 
But, undismayed, they went forward; and some 
of their most malignant foes became their most 
ardent friends. True, persecution kindled its 
hottest fires; but their* own blood extinguished 
the flames. Wherever they went idol deities 
were dethroned, and idol temples were destroyed. 
We, no doubt, talk more and write more about 
Church-work than they; but, unfortunately, we 
act less. We can surpass them in resolving, but 
they were far ahead of us in doing. If any thing 
w T as to be done, instead of calling meetings, pass- 
ing resolutions, and then leaving the work un- 
done, they went boldly forward and did it. How 
appropriately is one book of the ISTew Testament 
named, not the Resolutions, but the Acts of the 
Apostles ! 

The wants of the age demand not only a vigor- 
ous but an individual Christianity. The motto of 
John Wesley was, "All at it, and always at it." 
And that of the blessed Saviour was, and is, " To 
every man his work." True, all have not the same 
work, or the same gifts ; and it is a wise provision 
of our Heavenly Father that they have not. 
"Having then gifts differing according to the 
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, 
let us prophesy according to the proportion of 
14 



210 PULPIT AND PEW. 

faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; 
or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that ex- 
horteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him 
do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with 
diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerful- 
ness." (Rom. xii. 6-8.) The rule, then, laid 
down by Paul is, that every true Christian, after 
having prayed earnestly over the matter, should 
take the place assigned to him in the providence 
of God. • The expression may seem to some to be 
a strong one — perhaps an extravagant one — but 
there is not a Christian on earth who has not a 
specific work, and he can do that work better 
than any other member of the body of Christ. 
Each child of God, therefore, should, like Paul, 
ask, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do"? 
Not a single Christian — no, not one — is at liberty 
to "neglect the gift that is in him." Says Dr. 
Dulles, "When the car of Juggernaut is to be 
drawn, every man who can pull a pound must pull 
that pound. In the Church of Christ every man 
can pull his pound. There is a j)lace for the old 
and a place for the young, for the poor as well as 
the rich, for the unlearned as truly as for the 
learned. What is needed is an earnest resolve to 
find our place, and with God's help to fill it. The 
places are as various as our capacities. In the 
Sabbath-school there is a call for superintendents, 
secretaries, treasurers, and librarians, for teachers, 
visitors, sextons, scholars, and givers. In the 
prayer-meeting there is a place for earnest 



PULPIT AND PEW. .211 

speakers, believing prayers, hearty singers, and 
punctual, teachable hearers. In the Church are 
needed elders, deacons, ushers, singers. Others 
can serve* the Master by visiting the poor, the 
stranger, and the afflicted, and by nursing the 
sick. The night-school, the sewing-school, the 
Dorcas society, the mothers' meeting, tract dis- 
tribution, collecting for missions, and other fields 
are open to willing 'hearts. No man, woman, or 
child need say that there is nothing for him or 
for her to do. Let each find his work and do it." 
jSTo member of the Church, then, has any more 
right to turn over his spiritual work to his neigh- 
bor than he has to ask him to eat and digest his 
food for him. He needs to do his own work as 
much as the interests of Christ's kingdom need 
to have it done. There is an untold amount of 
latent power in the Church which has never been 
developed, and never can be developed until each 
member recognizes the binding force of the 
Saviour's words, "To every man his work." 
Thrice happy, therefore, the minister who can de- 
velop this latent power; and thrice blessed is the 
congregation each of whose members will con- 
sent to obey the teaching of the Bible upon this 
point. 

10. They must pray for their minister, and must 
co-operate with him in Church-work. 

Prayer is one of the most potent influences 
which the Christian can wield. Indeed, even 



212 PULPIT AND PEW. 

with the Bible to aid us, we are unable to ascer- 
tain the possibilities of this instrumentality; 
because that blessed Book nowhere defines them. 
It is, however, enough for us to know -ftiat Chris- 
tian prayer is the greatest power in the universe, 
save God himself. It secures favors, not only to 
the petitioner, but to those for whom he prays. 
This is a most blessed feature of the Christian 
religion ; for it matters not, go far as the efficacy 
of the service is concerned, whether the petitioner 
asks for himself or for another — whether it is the 
Psalmist praying "Lord, help me;" or the devout 
Cornelius asking God to send a distant Apostle 
to break to the people of Cesarea the bread of 
life. 

Knowing the efficacy of prayer, it was an estab- 
lished custom of Paul to ask his Christian breth- 
ren to pray for him and for his co-laborers. 
"Brethren, pray for us." (1 Thess. v. 25.) 
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of 
the Lord may have free course, and be glorified." 
(2 Thess. iii. 1.) " Praying always with all 
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watch- 
ing thereunto with all perseverance and supplica- 
tion for ail saints; and for me, that utterance may 
be given unto me, that I may open my mouth 
boldly," etc. (Eph. vi. 18, 19.) Now, if the great 
Apostle of the Gentiles, with his learning and 
with his inspiration, felt the necessity of prayer 
in his behalf and in behalf of those associated 
with him, how much more needful is it that the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 213 

ministry of this day should have the prayers of 
those t; whom they preach? 

The relation which exists between minister and 
people enforces this duty. He is under obliga- 
tions to do them good by preaching the gospel, 
and by his intercessions and prayers in their be- 
half. They are bound to hear, and to endeavor, 
in every possible way, to derive profit from all his 
ministrations. The duties growing' out of this 
relation are mutual. He prays for them, and 
they should pray for him. The most profitable 
sermons are those in which the people are inter- 
ested ; but how can they be interested if they do 
not pray for him who dispenses to them the bread 
of life? The prayers offered on the day of 
Pentecost gave point and power to the sermon 
preached by Peter, which resulted in the conver- 
sion of three thousand souls. 

In the next place, the peculiar trials to which 
ministers are subjected bespeak for them an 
interest in the prayers of their people. No class 
of men on earth have greater difficulties to meet, 
severer trials to encounter, and deeper discour- 
agements to depress. They have every sort of 
taste to please, every kind of objection to meet, 
and every shade of prejudice to overcome. If 
faithful to their Master, they will often gain the 
ill-will, not only of many "that are without," but, 
likewise, many that are of " their own house- 
hold." An important part of their duty is to 
" reprove and rebuke." . They dare not, at all 



214 PULPIT AND PEW. 

times, " prophesy smooth things." If iniquity 
abounds, they "must cry aloud and spare not." 
If worldliness comes in like a flood, they must 
breast the current. If any backslide, they must 
"testify" against them. By doing these things 
they awaken enmity and opposition. Their mo- 
tives are misconstrued, and their actions severely 
criticised. No wonder, then, that they often cry 
out in the language of Paul, "Who is sufficient 
for these things?" But, under these circum- 
stances, how like blessed balm to their care-worn 
hearts are the prayers of the people of God ! 

Furthermore, the spiritual welfare of the mem- 
bership demands a compliance with this duty. 
It is not likely that the services of a minister, no 
difference what his talents or acquirements may 
be, will be profitable to a prayerless membership. 
He may " speak with the tongues of men and of 
angels," but if his people have not, by earnest 
prayer, prepared their hearts to receive his mes- 
sage, his services will be to them " as sounding 
brass, or a tinkling cymbal." Let it be remem- 
bered — yea, let it be written upon the tablet of 
every heart, never to be forgotten or obliterated — 
that no people can have a good and successful 
minister unless they pray for him. A member- 
ship that does not pray for its minister, is invaria- 
bly a fault-finding people. The truth is, the 
membership, to a great extent, holds in its own 
hands the success or failure of its minister — he 
being the clay, and they the potter. Bearing this 



PULPIT AND PEW. 215 

thought in mind, we can understand why it is 
that some Churches never have a minister that 
suits them, and others never have one that does 
not do them good and build them up. The former 
can take the best minister in the denomination 
to which they belong, and, in a short time, denude 
him of his power; the latter can take even an 
ordinary one, and, in less than one year, make 
him a " son of thunder." 

The principal consideration, however, by which 
this duty is enforced, is the success of the gos- 
pel — " that the word of the Lord may have free 
course and be glorified." The most efficient min- 
isters are but "earthen vessels." "Neither he 
that plants nor he that waters is any thing." If 
any fruit appears, it is " God that giveth the 
increase." If souls are to be converted, if the 
Church is to be revived, it is when the " Spirit is 
poured out from on high," through the "power 
and demonstration of the Holy Ghost." Sinners 
are awakened, "not by might, nor by power, but 
by the Spirit of God." And that blessed Agent 
does not come unsought. His saving influences 
are shed abroad only in answer to prayer — the 
fervent, effectual prayer of faith. This prayer 
of faith, however, depends upon the state of the 
Church. But how miserable must be the state. 
of that Church in which no prayer is offered for 
the minister ! How can the gospel have " free 
course " in such an organization? The truth will 
freeze as soon as it touches the cold heart of such 



216 PULPIT AND PEW. 

a Church, and will fall powerless at the feet of 
sinners. As to any immediate results, the minis- 
ter might as well preach to the icebergs of the 
Arctic ocean. The membership, then, cannot too 
often, nor too fervently, pray for its minister. It 
should pray for him through the week, while he 
is preparing for the Sabbath, that his mouth may 
be filled with arguments, and that the very ser- 
mon which he is preparing may be owned and 
blessed of Gk>d. Nor should prayer then cease; 
because he should be remembered even when he 
is in the pulpit delivering his message. It was 
only when the hands of Moses were held up by 
Aaron and Hur that Israel prevailed. .Indeed, 
the success of the gospel is as really promoted by 
fervent prayer as by faithful preaching. There 
must be preaching, for so hath the Lord ordained. 
There must also be prayer, for this, too, is accord- 
ing to his appointment. All cannot preach ; but 
all can pray, and thus promote the success of the 
gospel as really, if not to the same extent, as if 
they were preachers. There is in a certain book 
the following legend: "A preacher, whose ser- 
mons were instrumental in the conversion of men 
by scores, received a revelation from Heaven that 
not one of the conversions was owing to his tal- 
.ents or eloquence, but all to the prayers of an 
illiterate layman, who sat on the pulpit steps, 
pleading all the time for the success of the ser- 
mon." Let, then, all the members of the Church 
intercede with God in behalf of him who brings 



PULPIT AND PEW. 217 

to them the message of salvation. By so doing, 
they become, so to speak, partners in his labors — 
heirs with him in the grand spiritual estate which 
he has accumulated. If this duty were constantly 
and faithfully performed, there would be but few 
dissatisfied Churches, but few inefficient ministers, 
and but few unconverted adults in the bounds of 
such congregations. What a power would such 
a course make the minister in every household! 
How could children fail to love and respect a 
minister for whom they heard prayer offered 
around the family altar? 

As to the necessity of co-operation with the 
minister in Church-work, but little need be said ; 
for the importance of the duty is apparent to 
every reflecting mind. Every organization, 
whether secular or spiritual, must have a head — 
a leader. This is indispensable, not only to the 
existence, but to the efficiency, of the organiza- 
tion. Every well-organized firm has its "office 
man" — the man who takes the general super- 
vision of the business, and who, to a great extent, 
dictates the policy and directs the movements of 
the whole establishment. By virtue of his posi- 
tion, too, he knows more about the affairs of the 
firm than any one else. The same is true in 
regard to the Church. And, by God's own ap- 
pointment, the minister is, so to speak, the " office 
man" — the leader — of the Church which he 
serves. He knows more about the organization 
than any one else — knows better than any one 



218 PULPIT AND PEW. 

what it needs, for it is his business to know. For 
this reason, he is better prepared than any one 
else to indicate the policy — the plan of work — 
which should be pursued. The membership, 
therefore, should defer to him ; and, unless his 
plans can be shown to be defective, they should 
"fall into line," and heartily co-operate with him. 
Lamentable to say, however, there are some mem- 
bers who are so self-willed and stubborn, that 
they utterly refuse to adopt any line of policy 
which their minister suggests. Such members 
are a torment — yea, a serious injury — to the or- 
ganization to which they belong. They are the 
irregular stones that fit nowhere in the spiritual 
edifice; and no amount of hammering, squaring, 
or polishing will put them in shape. In reference 
to this class of Church -members, the prayer of all 
of G-od's faithful ministers should be, " From all 
such, good Lord, deliver us." 

11. They must cultivate household piety— family 
religion. 

Our Heavenly Father intended much by estab- 
lishing the family relation — by making parents 
chiefly responsible for the proper training of their 
children; for, by so doing, he made provision for 
the intellectual, moral, and religious culture of 
the entire human race. The obligation imposed 
is of a serious and solemn character, and it can 
be neither ignored nor transferred. God holds 
parents personally responsible; hence, there can 



PULPIT AND PEW. 219 

be no substitution in the case, as long as the rela- 
tion exists. He has committed the trust prima- 
rily to those who are responsible, by Divine 
favor, for the existence of children. It is right, 
too, that it should be so; for parents are, of all 
others, the most closely and the most tenderly 
allied to them. J$o others can feel the love, the 
interest, and the solicitude for them which their 
own parents feel. G-od has so ordained it — has so 
constituted the relation between parents and 
children, that their own happiness, the well-being 
of society, and the best interests of his kingdom, 
shall all be most efficiently promoted by observ- 
ing this primordial law. He has fixed the re- 
sponsibility; and none can remove it. The 
family is the first, the primary, school in which 
infantile minds and hearts are to be developed. 
It is Nature's nursery; it is the Church's nursery; 
it is God's nursery. Hoav momentous the trust 
committed to the hands of parents! These dear 
children have been given to them by God that 
they may be trained up for him — for heaven. 
Whatever is done to them, is done for him, or 
against him, as it may be good or bad, as it tends 
to save or destroy the soul for ever. 

Family religion, including prayer, pious in- 
struction, godly example, and parental restraint, 
cannot be overestimated. God has set his seal 
of approbation upon it throughout the Scriptures. 
Of Abraham he said, "I know him, that he will 
command his children and his household after 



220 PULPIT AND PEW. 

him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to 
do justice and judgment; that the Lord may 
bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken 
of him." (Gen. xviii. 19.) Here Abraham is 
commended for instructing his children and his 
household in the most important of all duties, 
"the way of the Lord" — the great doctrines of re- 
ligion; and "justice and judgment" — the great 
duties of religion. It is also said, "He will com- 
mand them"; that is, he will use that just 
authority which God gives the father and head of 
a family in the religious instruction of his chil- 
dren. Abraham also prayed with and instructed 
his family. Wherever he fixed his tent, there he 
built an altar to the Lord. This he did in the 
plain of Moreh, And when he removed to the 
mountain, "on the east of Bethel, there he builded 
an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name 
of the Lord." (Gen. xii. 7, 8.) 

The Bible furnishes many other examples of 
holy men, similar to that of Abraham. Joshua 
said, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; 
whether the gods which your fathers served 
that were on the other side of the flood, or the 
gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: 
but as for me and my house, we will serve the 
Lord. (Josh. xxiv. 15.) From this declaration 
we see that neither the exalted station which he 
occupied, nor his various and pressing public 
duties, prevented him from giving special atten- 
tion to household religion. When David had 



PULPIT AND PEW. 221 

brought the ark of God to the city of Jerusalem 
with joy, sacrifices, and thanksgiving, after dis- 
charging his official duties, and blessing the 
people in the name of the Lord, he "returned to 
bless his household." (2 Sam. vi. 20.) The same 
fidelity is observable in the examples of Job, and 
others. (See Job. ' i. 5; Dan. vi. 10.) As long- 
as the ark rested in the house of Obed-edom, 
God's blessings came upon him and his household. 
Of Cornelius it was said, "He was a devout man, 
and one that feared G-od with all his house, which 
gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God 
alway." (Acts x. 2.) The early Christians, also, 
practiced this duty. Paul greets the Church that 
was in the house of Priscilla and Aquila, when 
they were in Eome; and he sends the salutation 
of the Church which was in their house when 
they were in Asia. (See Horn. xvi. 3; 1 Cor. 
xvi. 19.) 

On the other hand, God has expressed his utter 
disapprobation of the course of those who neglect 
the Christian parental training upon which we 
are insisting. Eli was unfaithful in this duty — 
failed to restrain his wicked sons; and because of 
this fact, God said, "Behold, I will do a thing in 
Israel, at which both the ears of every one that hear- 
eth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against 
Eli all things which I have spoken concerning 
his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 
Eor I have told him that I will judge his house 
forever for the iniquity which he knoweth ; be- 



222 PULPIT AND PEW. 

cause his sons made themselves vile, and he re- 
strained them not. And therefore I have sworn 
unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's 
house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offer- 
ing forever." (1 Sam. iii. 11-14.) The sequel 
illustrated the severity of this curse. "The 
Philistines fought, and Israel' was smitten; the 
ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, 
Hophni and Phinehas, were slain." Hearing such 
dreadful tidings, Eli " fell from off the seat back- 
ward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, 
and he died." (1 Sam. iv. 10, 11, 18.) 

Says the Prophet Jeremiah, " Pour out thy fury 
upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon 
the families that call not on thy name." (Jer. 
x. 25.) Now, if the heathen and their families are 
to be thus punished, what must be the doom of 
professed Christian families who fail to worship 
God in their households? 

Family worship has many peculiar advantages. 
Children are imitative creatures. They are es- 
pecially inclined to copy after their parents. 
And surely parents could not confer a greater 
blessing upon their children, both for time and 
eternity, than by teaching them to worship 
around the family altar. David says of God, 
"He established a testimony in Jacob, and 
appointed a law in Israel, which he com- 
manded our fathers, that they should make 
them known to their children; that the gene- 
ration to come might know them, even the chil- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 223 

dren which should be born ; who should arise and 
declare them to their children ; that they might 
set their hope in God, and not forget the works 
of God, but keep his commandments." (Ps. 
lxxviii. 5-7.) The meaning of the scriptures just 
quoted is, that family religion is one of the most 
important means of propagating piety to pos- 
terity. In other words, if Christian parents will 
train up their children in the nurture and ad- 
monition of the Lord, the strong probability — 
yea, the certainty — is that these same children will 
train up theirs in the same manner, and their 
piety will, through the blessing of God, whose 
mercy is upon those who fear him unto a thou- 
sand generations, be continued from age to age. 
The manner in which parents educate their chil- 
dren will give general tone and character to 
future ages, and be the means of transmitting 
holiness and happiness, or pollution and misery, 
to unborn generations. How great, then, is the 
sin of neglecting family religion ! It is sinning 
against the express commands of God, against all 
his goodness and mercy in giving families and 
preserving them. By so doing, parents sin against 
themselves, against the children which God has 
graciously given them, against the Church and 
the commonwealth, and against the ages yet to 
be born. 

The great Cecil says of family worship, " It is 
an engine of vast power. It diffuses a sympathy 
through the household. It calls off the mind from 



224 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the deadening effects of worldly affairs. It ar- 
rests every member with a morning and evening 
sermon in the midst of all the hurries and cares 
of life. It says, ' There is a God ! ' < There is a 
spiritual world ! ' 'There is a life to come!' It 
fixes the idea of responsibility in the mind. It 
furnishes a tender and judicious father with an 
opportunity of gently referring to faults, where a 
direct and severe admonition might be inexpe- 
dient." Archbishop Tillotson says of family 
worship, "Where it is neglected, I do not see how 
any family can in reason be esteemed a family 
of Christians, or, indeed, to have any religion 
at all." 

Matthew Henry said, "A family without an 
altar is like a house without a roof — has no pro- 
tection from the elements without." 

Many parents, it is true, attempt to render ex- 
cuses for the non-performance of this duty; and 
they do frame apologies which seem to satisfy 
themselves. But with the plain teachings of the 
Bible upon this subject, it would be a most diffi- 
cult matter to find an excuse that God would re- 
ceive. Indeed, no other religious service can take 
its place, and if it is neglected a loss is sustained 
for which there is no complete substitute. Bead- 
ing the Scriptures in the home circle, and prayer 
at the family altar, make a deeper and more last- 
ing impression upon children than the same 
services performed elsewhere; for they know that 
their parents do not do these things "to be seen 



PULPIT AND PEW. 225 

of men," but because they recognize the fact that 
they need and must have G-od's blessings upon 
themselves and upon their children. Then, let 
not this duty be neglected; for it is one of the 
most solemn and impressive of all means of in- 
struction. In it, parents, in the presence of their 
children, acknowledge the being, perfections, and 
dominion of God. They confess their sins, and 
ask for pardon in the name of Christ. They ac- 
knowledge the mercies of God, their dependence 
upon him, and recognize the doctrines and duties 
of our holy religion. How, then, is it possible to 
teach so many, and such momentous things, in 
any other way, so solemnly, and to such advan- 
tage? What else is so well calculated to fix in 
the minds of children a sense of the reality and 
importance of religion? What can so convince 
them of the concern which parents feel for them? 
JSTothing — absolutely nothing. 

12. They must engage in Sabbath- school work — 
must labor for the conversion of the young. 

To the thoughtful Bible-reader, it is a matter 
of profound astonishment that the Sabbath- 
school — the school for studying the Sacred Script- 
ures — is quite recent in its origin. We have to 
look back only about a century to find the " time 
and place " when this " institution " was first in- 
augurated. Yet, in the days of Moses, Ave have 
this language: "And these words, which I com- 
mand thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and 
15 



226 PULPIT AND PEAV. 

thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy chil- 
dren, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest 
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the 
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou 
risest up." (Deut. vi. 6, 7.) In the writings of 
Solomon we have this command : " Train up a 
child in the way he should go ; and when he is 
old, he will not depart from it." (Pro v. xxii. 6.) 
The blessed Saviour not only said, " Suffer the 
little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not;" but he, likewise, in his last interview with 
his disciples, said, "Feed my lambs." (Mark x. 
14; John xxi. 15.) With these and similar 
scriptures before us, the idea is repeated that it 
is a matter of astonishment that schools for teach- 
ing the Bible to children are of such recent 
origin. 

But, young as the institution is, it has grown 
into vast proportions — has spread throughout the 
Protestant world; and has taken a most promi- 
nent position among human and Divine agencies 
for the salvation of the youth. It has not only 
enlisted the most active and vigorous workers 
of Christendom ; but it has laid its young, strong, 
giant hand upon one of the most potent of 
earthly instrumentalities — the printing press — 
and demands, perhaps, a larger issue than any 
other cause in the world. . And as these schools 
now exist almost everywhere; and as they are 
now by many considered as occupying a position 
second only to the preaching of the gospel, we 



PULPIT AND PEW. 227 

propose to assign some reasons why Christians 
should give to them their hearty support. 

(a) One important reason for cordial co-opera- 
tion is, these schools afford employment for all 
Christians. Before they were organized, there 
was work for ODly a small number — the minister 
and a few official members, while the great body 
of the membership was standing " all the day 
idle." No doubt, too, that this is one reason why 
Christianity has made such slow progress in sub- 
jugating the " kingdoms of this world " to " God 
and to his Christ." The fault lay not in the 
paucity, but in the inefficiency — the want of 
drill — of the members. No difference how earnest 
and energetic the officers of a temporal army may 
be, yet they can accomplish but little without the 
assistance of the common soldiery. It is just so 
with the " grand army of Christ " — the common 
soldiery in it, as well as its officers, must be 
drilled and put into active service. Sabbath- 
schools afford this desideratum. In them there is 
work for aM — for old and young, either in the 
capacity of teacher or pupil. And with such an 
opportunity to work, not a single member of the 
Church need to be idle. 

(p) Furthermore, these schools are a sovereign 
remedy against infidelity. In them the Bible is 
studied — is or should be the text-book or basis 
of every thing that is taught. Now no one can 
understand the truths of science and yet disbe- 
lieve them. The doubting ones in science are 



228 PULPIT AND PEW. 

those who are ignorant — those who do not under- 
stand its truths — those who have not been prop- 
erly instructed. The same is true in reference 
to the Bible — the infidels, the disbelievers, are 
those who do not understand it. God is the 
author of science ; he is also the author of the 
Bible. It is, therefore, just as impossible to un- 
derstand the latter without believing it as it is to 
understand the former without embracing its 
truths. The cause, then, for theoretical infidelity 
in religion, is ignorance. Not a single infidel, 
whose writings have cursed the world, ever even 
professed to have read and studied the Bible with 
care. Indeed, so far as we know, they all ac- 
knowledged that they had never read it as a 
whole — simply read it in detached portions — read 
it, not with a desire to understand it, but to dis- 
parage and caricature it — read it as a soldier 
would examine the fortification of an enemy, 
looking not for strong but for weak points. If, 
then, we would rid society of one of the most 
terrible of all curses — infidelity — ther# is but one 
remedy: teach the Bible to the young — to those 
from whom the "rank and file" of infidelity 
come. Sabbath-schools afford the means of doing 
that work. 

(c) Again, they beget a respect and reverence 
for the Sabbath. One of the strong pillars of 
Christianity is this sacred day — the day which 
all the human family are required to k< ep holy. 
If the Sabbath is disregarded, the sanctuary and 



PULPIT AND PEW, 229 

all other moral influences will, to a great extent, 
be neglected and despised. The truth of this 
assertion no one will call in question. Just in 
proportion as this day is disregarded, will the 
knowledge and worship of God escape from the 
mind, the moral sense of the community be im- 
paired, its powers decay, its foundations fail, and 
its pillars totter and fall. But the direct tend- 
ency of Sabbath-schools is to arrest such a direful 
calamity. They gather those who would other- 
wise be loitering about the streets, wandering in 
the fields, or reveling in dissipation; and they 
impress the minds and hearts of all whom they 
thus assemble with proper respect for (rod's 
sacred day. Now, when we remember that nine- 
tenths of our worst criminals charge to Sabbath 
desecration the first fatal step in their mad career, 
we can form some idea of the absolute importance 
of an institution which effectually checkmates 
the direful evil. 

(d) These schools, too, operate upon the most 
impressible and most important element of so- 
ciety — the youth. The mind of a child may be 
fitly compared to the delicate plate of the photo- 
graph artist ; for it receives an impression from 
whatever object is placed before it. As the pho- 
tographer has power to make either a beautiful 
or hideous picture, by his own selection, so the 
Christian artist may, by his own efforts, make 
either a lovely or frightful image upon that 
equally delicate plate — the human mind. In 



230 PULPIT AND PEW. 

youth, the memory is retentive, the heart is 
tender, conscience is faithful, and prejudices are 
few and feeble. Impressions are then easily 
made; and the principles then inculcated con- 
tinue through life to be the most permanent and 
powerful. Habit, too, is daily increasing its in- 
fluences for good or for evil — riveting the shackles 
of sin, or strengthening the golden chain which 
binds the heart to God. What infinite wisdom, 
then, do we see in the command, " Train up a 
child in the way he should go ; and when he is 
old, he will not depart from it." There is in the 
life of every child, reared in a Christian land, a 
period— yea, a moment — when a word, a tear, a 
prayer, may induce it to accept Christ; and the 
institution in behalf of which we are pleading 
gives a chance to improve that awfully moment- 
ous period. 

(e) It is likewise a fact, which no reflecting man 
will controvert, that those who are thus trained 
in early life make the best Christians. Persons 
who have lived thirty, forty, fifty years in sin, 
find it exceedingly difficult, even after a profes- 
sion of religion has been made, to walk circum- 
spectly before the Church and the world. They 
have lived so long in rebellion against God, that 
the faculties of mind and heart have been 
blunted ; and there is with them a constant war- 
fare— "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and 
the Spirit against the flesh." (Gal. v. 17.) Not 
so With those who, like Samuel, have grown up 



PULPIT AND PEW. 231 

around the altar. To them the "yoke is easy 
and the burden is light," because they began to 
bear them in early life. These, too, as a general 
rule, are the pillars of the Church. They are not 
only the best exponents of Christian deportment, 
but of Christian doing. They are the "body- 
guard" of the minister — the "reserve force" 
upon which he can rely in any emergency. 
Those not thus drilled, like raw militia, may be 
willing to fight for their cause, but really they do 
not know how to handle the weapons placed in 
their hands; and like them, too, they are liable 
to give way, if the conflict is pretty severe. 

(/) As a final reason, we assert that these 
schools afford to many all the religious instruc- 
tion which they receive. There are thousands 
upon thousands — yea, millions — of children who 
receive no Christian culture at home; and were 
it not for Sabbath-schools these children would, 
to all intents and purposes, be heathens, in a 
moral and religious sense. Indeed, it was to 
reach just such that the institution was first 
established by Bobert Eaikes. These schools, 
then, reach out their tender, loving arms, and 
embrace that large class of our youth who, with- 
out their agency, would be destitute of religious 
training; and they make those deep, lasting im- 
pressions at the very period of. life when there is 
most hope. Nor has it escaped the observation 
of any thoughtful Christian that many of these 
moral waifs, thus brought into the fold, make — ■ 



232 PULPIT AND PEW. 

often make — our most efficient laymen and our 
most renowned ministers of the gospel. The his- 
tory of Christendom abounds with such instances. 
Other reasons, and good ones, too, could be 
assigned to induce Christians to engage heartily 
in Sabbath-school work, but want of space for- 
bids. Suffice it to say, the institution has God's 
benedictions — has been owned and blessed of 
him as one of the most powerful agencies known 
to the Church for the upbuilding of his cause. 
Like the gospel, its " field is the world." All 
classes, all conditions, are alike the objects of its 
kind and comprehensive benevolence. Pupils, 
teachers, parents, and friends share its benefits. 
None are so high as to be above its favors ; none 
so low as to be beneath its notice. No Christian, 
then, can afford to stand aloof, or even be indiffer- 
ent, With mind and heart he must enter the 
service ; nor must he quit until the Master dis- 
charges him. No member of the Church knows 
so .much or so little as that he may be excused 
from this service. The truth is, it should be a 
service in which all the membership should be 
interested. In other words, a Sabbath-school in 
any congregation, should be that whole congre- 
gation studying the word of God ; for all, with- 
out exception, need the benefits which this insti- 
tution bestows. Let it be remembered, too, that 
it is not an institution separate and distinct from 
the Church — is simply the Church putting forth 
its energy in one department of its legitimate 



PULPIT AND PEW. 233 

work — is the Church itself in that department. 
Any other theory in relation to this institution 
is not only erroneous hut prolific of evil. The 
Church is under the most solemn obligation to 
see to it that the children committed to its care 
shall be trained up "in the nurture and admo- 
nition of the Lord," and it is simply impossible, 
without committing a great sin, to delegate this 
work, or authority, or responsibility, to any 
agency outside of itself. To the minister, then, 
and to his official members, this great trust is 
committed, and they cannot, they must not, allow 
it to pass into the control of others. 

As an incentive to earnest and vigorous effort 
on the part of the Church in this particular de- 
partment, the following tabular exhibit is made. 
It is copied from the late Dr. Spencer. He says : 
"■ I once made an actual examination of this sort, 
in respect to two hundred and fifty-three hopeful 
converts to Christ, who came under my observa- 
tion at a particular period. Of these there were 
converted : 



Under 


20 years of 
m 20 and 30 


age. 

years 




. 138 


Betwe( 


of age . 


. 85 


a 


30 " 40 


a 


a 


. 22 


ti 


40 " 50 


tt 


a 


. 4 


a 


50 " 60 


it 


u 


. 3 


it 


60 » 70 


it 


it 


. 1 



The observation of every other minister, no 
doubt, corroborates substantially that of Dr. 



234 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Spencer. If so, such figures show, most conclu- 
sively, the great importance of trying to reach 
the hearts of the human family with the gospel 
"in the days of their youth." Indeed, they 
prove, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the 
Sabbath-school is the great field upon which the 
battle for Christ is to be fought. In other words, 
if the world is to be subdued to the Cross, the 
work must be accomplished by the conversion of 
the young; for of all classes who are out of 
Christ, none are so susceptible to religious influ- 
ences as children and youth. 

13. They must support their minister pecuniarily — 
must enable those who "preach the gospel to live of 
the gospel." 

No point discussed in this little book is, per- 
haps, of greater interest than the one now under 
consideration; and if more space is given to it 
than to others, the assertion just made in regard 
to its importance is deemed a sufficient apology. 
On a subject so prolific in arguments it is difficult 
to make a selection ; but the summary which fol- 
lows has been chosen. 

(a) The analogy from all religions furnishes a 
strong argument in support of the position. The 
history of the past, as well as that of the present, 
shows that, although there have ever been a 
"seven thousand who have not bowed the knee 
to Baal," yet there have been vast numbers who 
have had their "gods many, and their lords 



PULPIT AND PEW. 235 

many." In other words, while there has ever 
been a pure religion in the world, it is equally 
true that, from the earliest history of "fallen 
man," there have ever been false religions — re- 
ligious which did not recognize the God of the 
Bible. These false religions, too, as their history 
testifies, have ever had their "priests"; and it is 
a fact which no well-informed person will contro- 
vert, that these "prophets of Baal" have been 
most amply provided for, so far as their temporal 
necessities are concerned. If, then, "the heathen 
in their blindness" can see good and sufficient 
reasons why their religious teachers should be re- 
lieved from all anxiety in regard to their own tem- 
poral support, how clear and convincing — yea, 
how overwhelming — must be the reasons to those 
"whose souls are lighted" for making the same 
provision for the temporal wants of their 
spiritual instructors! The difference between 
their religions is as marked and distinct as that 
between truth and falsehood — between light and 
darkness. But the heathen believe (and in this 
view they are correct) that their priests cannot 
meet their obligations to those whom they would 
serve, unless they are relieved from all worldly 
cares, and permitted to devote their whole time 
to their appropriate work. Why should not 
Christians so believe in regard to their religious 
guides? Surely no one can say that the Christian 
religion demands less thought, less labor, less 
care, less anxiety, than these false religions. If, 



236 PULPIT AND PEW. 

then, the heathen are willing to be taxed, and that 
heavily, too, in behalf of a religion which cannot 
benefit them, but, on the contrary, degrades them 
and their children, how anxious — yea, how eager — 
should Christians be to support a religion of "ex- 
ceeding great and precious promises" — a religion 
which elevates intellectually, socially, and 
morally its adherents — a religion that is adapted 
to parents and to their children — a religion which 
sustains the soul in an hour for which earth has 
no comfort and philosophy no hope — a religion 
which "saves to the uttermost," and saves forever 
all who embrace it and pillow their dying heads 
upon its blessed truths. 

(b) Next, ministers of the gospel deserve a 
temporal support upon the grouDd of equity and 
justice. Some, it is true, consider the amount 
contributed to this class of professional men as 
charity, but it is utterly untrue; nor can any one 
think or speak of ministers in this light without 
fixing upon himself as base a reproach as he at- 
tempts to fix upon that religion of which they 
are the appointed messengers. That which makes 
an equivalent return for what is received, cannot 
possibly be classed among public charities. This 
principle holds good in all the transactions of life. 
The vender of ardent spirits receives from his 
patrons the proceeds of honest toil; but in return 
gives only an enfeebled body, a frenzied brain, a 
broken-hearted wife, and penniless children. 
His business, therefore, is not equitable; for it 



PULPIT AND PEW. 237 

returns no just equivalent. But in the work of 
a faithful minister of the gospel it is vastly dif- 
ferent; because there is an abundant return — 
more than an equivalent — for the means expended 
in his support, both as it relates to this life, and to 
that which is to come— for ourselves, for our 
families, and for the country at large. The great 
statesman, Daniel Webster, in one of the grandest 
speeches of his life, paid the following tribute to 
the clergy of the United States. Said he, "I take 
it upon myself to say, that in no country in the 
world, upon either Continent, can there be found 
a body of ministers of the gospel who perform so 
much service to man, in such a full spirit of self- 
denial, under so little encouragement from Gov- 
ernment of any kind, and under circumstances 
almost always much straitened and often dis- 
tressed, as the ministers of the gospel in the 
United States, of all denominations. They are a 
body of clergymen which, for devotedness to 
their sacred calling, for purity of life and 
character, for learning, intelligence, piety, and 
that wisdom which cometh from above, is inferior 
to none, and superior to most others. I hope that 
our learned men have done something for the 
honor of our literature abroad. I hope that the 
courts of justice and members of the bar of this 
country have done something to elevate the 
character of the profession of the law. I hope 
that the discussions above (in Congress) have 
done something to ameliorate the condition of 



238 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the human race, to secure and extend the great 
charter of human rights, and to strengthen and 
advance the great principles of human liberty. 
But I contend that no literary efforts, no adjudi- 
cations, no constitutional discussions, nothing 
that has been done or said in favor of the great 
interests of universal man, has done this country 
more credit, at home and abroad, than the estab- 
lishment of our body of clergymen, their support 
by voluntary contributions, and the general ex- 
cellence of their character for piety and learn- 
ing." 

The foregoing is a noble and eloquent tribute 
to ministers of the gospel; yet it scarcely glances 
at the points which constitute their chief value. 
Their work is to instruct the ignorant, reclaim 
the wayward, comfort the mourning, and console 
the dying. In a word, they are instrumentally 
to save souls; and the spiritual blessings, which 
they are the means of bestowing upon the world, 
areas priceless "as the blood of the covenant," 
and as lasting as eternity itself. Talk not, then, 
of "charity" in connection with such services. 
If ministers of the gospel do not render an equiv- 
alent for the compensation which they receive, 
then what class of men on earth does? Under 
God, and according to his own gracious economy, 
the life of the Church is bound up in the life of 
the ministry. If we tear down the pulpits of 
Christendom, we may as well barn to ashes the 
buildings wjiich contain them. If we drive from 



PULPIT AND PEW. 239 

the altars those holy men whom God has placed 
there, and seal the lips of Heaven's messengers, 
Ave would create a greater void, and inflict a 
greater injury upon society, secular as well as 
spiritual, than by the removal of any other class 
of the world's population. If, then, there is a 
service on earth which deserves, in equity, a 
cheerful and generous support, it is that of the 
gospel ministry. Indeed, it is utterly impossible 
to adequately compensate such labor. We have a 
definite idea of what the laborer deserves who 
builds our houses, plows our fields, and gathers 
our harvest; but who can estimate, in dollars and 
cents, the value of a faithful minister's service? 
The fact is, any attempt to gauge the value of 
such services by a commercial standard, betrays 
a mind too sordid to be accessible to any form of 
argument. Paul could be paid for the "tents" 
he made; but who could set a price, in silver and 
gold, for the tears which he shed while warning 
sinners, night and day, to flee the wrath to come? 
If, then, the lawyer, the physician, the merchant, 
the mechanic, the farmer, the clerk, the day- 
laborer, should be compensated for the services 
which they perform, who will — who can ? — -dare say 
that the minister may not receive compensation 
for his services? The ministry is a profession; 
and those who labor in it are just as much en- 
titled to a support, and a -liberal one, too, as are 
those who give their time and talents to any other 
profession or vocation. Surely no one will doubt 



240 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the fact that it requires as much talent to be a 
successful minister of the gospel as it does to be 
a successful lawyer, physician, merchant, etc. ; 
and if so, should not he be compensated as well 
as they? In other words, could not a man who 
has sufficient ability to succeed in the ministry 
enter other professions, attain to eminence, and 
accumulate property ? It is unnecessary to pause 
to answer the question. Then, away with the 
idea that the gospel ministry is a profession 
which has no claims upon the world except that 
of charity. Such a view is dishonoring to G-od, 
discreditable to the profession, and disreputable 
to the one who entertains it God never intended 
that his ministers should be a set of moral mendi- 
cants, going from door to door, and begging for 
the "crumbs" which fall from any man's table. 
The resources of the universe are his, and rather 
than permit them to be subjected to such humilia- 
tion, he would do with them as he did with 
Elijah — send ravens to feed them. It is not, 
therefore, charity, but a debt which the world 
owes the gospel ministry — a debt which is just as 
binding as any which we can possibly incur by 
having the services of a lawyer, physician, me- 
chanic, etc.; and it is just as disgraceful and dis- 
honorable to refuse to recognize the claims of the 
former as of the latter. 

(c) Again, it is to the interest of the people 
themselves that their minister shall be liberally 
sustained pecuniarily. Men cannot sin against 



PULPIT AND PEW. 241 

God without injuring themselves. By " withhold- 
ing more than is meet" from the minister, they 
cut the sinews of strength and exertion; and by 
so doing they are the losers. No man can preach 
as he otherwise might when his mind is harassed 
with temporal things. In order that he may 
show himself "a workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," he 
must do as Paul directed Timothy to do — "study." 
But, that he may study to profit, two things are 
indispensable — time and books. Unless, however, 
he is sustained pecuniarily, he can have neither; 
and the result is, he feeds, or attempts to feed, his 
flock upon "husks," at the same time feeling and 
knowing that there is plenty and to spare in his 
Father's house if he only had time and oppor- 
tunity to prepare it for them. It is strange — re- 
markably strange — that people will consent to 
impoverish themselves in a spiritual point of 
view. They are not thus blind in temporal 
things — not even to the brute creation. If they 
w T ould get the greatest amount of efficient service 
from a dumb beast, they recognize the fact that 
the very best thing they can do for themselves is 
to treat the animal well; and the same is true in 
reference to any other species of property. Why 
is it, then, that they do not act with the same 
sound discretion in relation to their minister? 
With equal propriety might they expect profit- 
able service from the day-laborer whom they 
would stint in temporal food, as to expect efficient 
16 



242 PULPIT AND PEW. 

labor from a minister whom they would deprive 
of intellectual nourishment. How can a minister 
feed his people with "food convenient for them" 
if his mind is constantly annoyed with the tem- 
poral affairs of his own household? How can he 
calmly sit down to the preparation of a sermon 
when he knows that his wife and children are in 
want not only of the comforts but the necessaries 
of life? To be indifferent to such things he 
would have to be either superhuman or a brute! 
No man of ordinary character can help being 
crushed by such a load. Now and then, it is 
true, he may arouse himself to something like an 
effort; but, after all, it is the effort of an enfeebled 
mind and a bleeding heart. The truth is, noth- 
ing on earth so completely dwarfs the intellect 
and crushes the spirit of a minister as cold in- 
difference to, or neglect of, his temporal wants. 
And one of the great sins which many congrega- 
tions commit, and for which the individual mem- 
bers of the same will have to answer at the judg- 
ment bar of God, is this very one — dwarfing the 
minister — making him a pigmy when they might 
have made him a giant. How many have just 
such congregations driven to secular pursuits — to 
the farm, to the school-room, to the shop, to the 
store, who might have been "sons of thunder" if 
the members had done their duty. Who will be 
held accountable at the "great clay" for the good 
which these secularized ministers might have 
done — for the souls that they might have saved? 






PULPIT AND PEW. 243 

God alone knows just where and how to fix the 
responsibility; but one thing is certain, no small 
amount of it will be upon those who saw " their 
brother in need, and shut up their bowels of com- 
passion toward him." The very best way, there- 
fore, for a people to make their minister profit- 
able to themselves is to support him liberally. 
He will do them better service — will feed them 
upon food which will strengthen and develop 
them — will lead their children to Christ ; and will 
bring many others into the fold who will share 
•with them the duties and expenses of the house 
of God. 

No pecuniary investment yields such a re- 
turn as that employed in maintaining the gos- 
pel. This is emphatically one of the cases in 
which, "as a man sows, so shall he reap." One 
has said, and there is much truth in it, "There 
are very few congregations too poor to support a 
minister; but there are thousands too poor to be 
without one." Indeed, all things considered, the 
gospel ministry is one of the cheapest things in 
this world. Its bills are insignificantly small in 
comparison with those which "the prince of the 
power of the air" presents. How much easier, 
how much better, for a father to pay ten, twenty, 
fifty, one hundred dollars to the minister who 
saves his children from a life of dissipation and 
shame than to "foot the bills" of the ball-room, 
the drinking-saloon, the gambling-hells, and "the 
gins of the workers of iniquity"! It is often the 



244 PULPIT AND PEW. 

case that one dissipation, one "fashionable amuse- 
ment " for a single child, costs more than is paid 
for the.religious instruction of the entire house- 
hold for a single year. Who, then, can doubt that 
it is to the interest, pecuniary as well as spiritual, 
of any people to sustain the gospel ministry? 
Such an influence, in any community, is like a 
fountain in a desert — like the sun in the heavens. 
Blessings radiate from it in every direction. 
Whatever is evil it helps to eradicate or restrain ; 
whatever is good it fosters and augments. It not 
only teaches the way to heaven, but it tells with 
a gracious, though silent, power upon every social 
and secular interest. Its influence distils like the 
dew; and though no human eye can trace all of 
its ramifications, yet it permeates human society, 
and develops the embryo-germs of all that is good 
and noble in the soul of man. This is not fiction, 
but sober reality. The annals of the past may 
be appealed to in proof of the position that the 
gospel ministry has been the chief instrument of 
all true, social, intellectual, and moral progress, 
and that just in proportion as a people enjoy and 
appreciate its labors, do they advance in every 
thing that exalts, dignifies, and purifies human 
nature. 

(d) An additional argument for sustaining the 
ministry pecuniarily is based upon the fact that, 
without such a support, neither the Church of the 
present nor that of the' future can possibly have 
an adequate supply of consecrated, efficient min- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 245 

isters. In all the evangelical denominations of 
Christendom there is a vast number of "vacant 
Churches" — Churches without the regular means 
of grace; and in each of these denominations, too, 
there is a long list of unemployed ministers — 
ministers "without charge." Surely there must 
be a cause for this melancholy state of things. 
What is it? There is but one answer — the min- 
istry is not sustained pecuniarily as it should be. 
Scores of them are "standing all the clay idle," 
and the reason therefor is, no Church " hath hired 
them." Many of them — doubtless most of them — 
have tried to "live of the gospel" — have, perhaps, 
exhausted their own "scanty means," thereby re- 
ducing their families almost to absolute want. 
Who has not seen such a sight? In many an 
humble dwelling there sits a man whose name 
stands high upon the roll of ministerial ability, 
and by his side is a woman who would be at home 
in an elegant mansion, their hands rough with 
toil, and their garments thin with age. They are 
almost ashamed for even a brother minister to 
see their little table with its rude and scanty fare. 
He has spent many years of his life in preaching 
"Jesus and the resurrection" — has neglected his 
temporal affairs for the privilege of so doing — ■ 
but now he sits in mournful sadness, knowing 
not how long it may be until his family shall be 
in utter want. The people to whom he has 
preached have disregarded their obligations to 
him, and by so doing have driven him from the 



246 PULPIT AND PEW. 

pulpit. Words are scarcely adequate to do justice 
to such treatment. Suffice it to say, it is the re- 
finement of cruelty — is closely allied to that tort- 
ure in the Inquisition, in which the unfortunate 
victim was so placed as that, drop after drop of 
water falling upon his head, at last pierced the 
brain. Such martyrdom as a minister often en- 
dures, is not, it is true, as acute as that inflicted 
upon the "confessors," who, centuries ago, were 
burned at the stake ; but it is more severe because 
it is more slow. There are martyrdoms where 
there is no fire or headsman's ax. There are 
punishments, too, which are worse than death. 
Indeed, the most savage executioners are those who 
do not kill, but who spare their victims for other 
tortures. Having received such treatment, how 
can a minister feel that zeal for his Church which 
is indispensable to usefulness? The people who 
have thus treated him may pass "complimentary 
resolutions" as an "offset" to the large amount 
of "arrearages" which they have permitted to 
accumulate; but to him they arc hollow and 
hypocritical shams — do not cancel the debt, buy 
bread for his family, nor heal the heart-wounds 
which their conduct has inflicted. There are 
thousands upon thousands of just such mistreated, 
disheartened, unemployed ministers throughout 
Christendom; and, consequently, there is a still 
greater number of dead and dying Churches — 
Churches which, when they did their duty, were 
prosperous and powerful; but now, like stranded 



PULPIT AND PEW. 247 

ships which have lost their pilots, they exist as 
monuments to warn others of danger. In other 
words, they have "robbed God in tithes and offer- 
ings"; and, for so doing, he has sent upon them 
the greatest of all calamities, "not a famine of 
bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the 
words of the Lord " — has treated them as he did 
the Churches spoken of by John in the Apoca- 
lypse — "has removed their candlesticks." 

The Church, then, of the present is not accom- 
plishing its whole mission ; and the reason is, it 
has, by parsimonious giving, secularized a large 
portion of its ministers. Grod not only deemed 
these men worthy to preach his gospel, but neces- 
sary in the great work of evangelizing the world. 
But the gift, by thousands of congregations, has 
been disregarded; and, as a matter of course, 
sinners are perishing for the bread of life. "Who 
will be held responsible for this terrible state of 
affairs? Who is responsible for this inadequate 
supply of ministers to meet the wants of a perish- 
ing world? Gcfd has done his part — has called 
men to the work, but the Church has not made 
provision for their temporal wants. Who can 
even conceive of the grand results which would 
be accomplished if all the unemployed ministers 
of evangelical Christendom were relieved from 
temporal cares, and permitted to spend their 
whole time in their appropriate work? The 
waste places would be built up, sinners would be 
converted, the heathen Avould have the gospel, and 



248 PULPIT AND PEW. 

the moral deserts of this world would "blossom 
as the rose." 

"Not only does such a course of conduct on the 
part of the membership greatly affect the minis- 
try of the present, but it has a wonderful in- 
fluence upon that of the future. In view of the 
rapidly-increasing demand for " more laborers " in 
the vineyard of the Lord, there is an alarming 
paucity of young men who seem willing to devote 
their lives to the sacred office, as the official 
records of all denominations show. Many of 
these denominations, in view of the fact just 
stated, have in the last few years issued heart- 
rending appeals to their people, calling special 
and prayerful attention to the matter. Now why 
this paucity — this inadequate supply? There is 
but one rational solution to the problem — the in- 
efficient support which is given to the ministry of the 
'present. True, it is easy to say, in answer to this, 
that if God has called a young man to the minis- 
try, no such impediment should deter him from 
entering upon it. But while we admit the para- 
mount obligation, we must not forget that human 
nature, at best, is exceedingly frail. ' When, there- 
fore, a young man looks around him and sees the 
uncertain and the inadequate support which the 
gospel ministry promises, no difference how 
urgently the Spirit calls, he is prone to answer in 
the language of Moses, "O my Lord, send, I pray 
thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send"; 
and then, in the language of another, he adds, "I 



PULPIT AND PEW. 249 

pray thee have me excused." In any and in all 
the departments of life, except the ministry, such 
a young man may count with confidence upon a 
competency, not only during the vigor of man- 
hood, but for a quiet old age. How hard, there- 
fore, to turn away from vocations which promise 
an ample support, and enter upon one which 
holds out to him a career of severe toil and of 
unrequited labor! True, it is not God's plan, as 
we shall sec at the proper place in this argument, 
that the sacred office should be one of poverty; 
but the Church has, to a great extent, made it so. 
To say the least, it demands of its ministers, as a 
general rule, a degree of poverty and self-denial 
which it, in its individual members, is wholly un- 
willing to endure. Is this right? Is it just? Is 
it equitable? Ministers are men of " like passions 
with others"; and who can lay his hand upon 
his heart and say that they ought to be required 
to do more work and better work than any other 
class of laborers of equal mental and moral at- 
tainments for less compensation? No one who 
will properly reflect upon the subject will answer 
in the affirmative. If he should give his assent- 
to such a proposition, and then act in accordance 
with the response, the only consolation which he 
could have therefor, would be the certainty that ' 
he is contributing his influence to greatly wrong 
not only the ministry of the present, but also that 
of the future; and by so doing, not only injuring 
the generation in which he lives, but that which 



250 PULPIT AND PEW. 

is to follow — not only his children, but his chil- 
dren's children. To the true Christian there can 
surely be no consolation in contemplating such a 
disaster. 

(e) Again, the demands which are made upon 
ministers of the gospel afford an additional argu- 
ment in behalf of a liberal pecuniary support. 
In the first part of this little book we attempted 
to set forth the duties which devolve upon a min- 
ister; and no one, it is believed, can read that 
summary without feeling that it affords, in itself, 
a strong argument in favor of an amply-sustained 
ministry — a ministry relieved from temporal 
cares; for in no other way can such responsibili- 
ties be met. But, in addition to the demands 
there insisted upon, there are others of a supple- 
mentary character which may be briefly stated 
here. 

'One of the requisitions of a minister of the 
gospel, mentioned by Paul, is, he is to be a " lover 
of hospitality." His house is to be always open 
for the entertainment of "the brethren." A lay 
member of the Church may invite a stranger 
home with him or not, just as he sees proper, and 
nothing is thought or said about the matter. But 
it is not so with a minister; he must keep "open 
house," and must always be prepared for com- 
pany. Sick or well, provided with domestic help 
or not, his family is expected to entertain the 
"itinerant brother" and the "traveling agent." 
The dignity of the profession, too, demands 



PULPIT AND PEW. 251 

that the minister shall at all times be neatly 
dressed. A congregation would be ashamed to 
see its minister with elbows out and patches upon 
threadbare clothing, and it is to be commended 
for such decent pride; for nothing, which does 
not involve moral character, more seriously in- 
jures the usefulness of a minister in the estima- 
tion of every one who has a proper respect for 
the sacred office than for him to be thus clad. 

Then, too, he must have boobs, periodicals, 
papers, etc., if he would keep abreast of the 
times. No minister must feel satisfied with his 
literary qualifications until he is recognized, at 
least, as one of the most intelligent men in the 
community in which he labors. He must be a 
leader of public thought and sentiment, 

.Nor is this all. His work brings him in con- 
tact with poverty and suffering in almost every 
conceivable form ; and, light as his purse may be, 
he would be less than human if he did not share 
its contents to relieve those whom he finds in such 
circumstances. In a word, he must be known 
and recognized as the friend of the poor. Benev- 
olent enterprises, too, make their demands upon 
him; and curious and inexplicable as it is, yet he 
is expected to be one of the most liberal contrib- 
utors to all such demands. How, then, is it pos- 
sible to meet the requisitions which are made 
upon the sacred office unless those who occupy it 
arc amply sustained pecuniarily? 

(/) Finally, the Scriptures absolutely and un- 



252 PULPIT AND PEW. 

equivocally demand that the ministry shall be 
liberally provided for — that "they that preach 
the gospel shall live of the gospel." Thus far we 
have considered the arguments which can be ad- 
duced outside of the teachings of the Bible upon 
this subject. We now propose to appeal " to the 
law and to the testimony" — the "court of last 
appeal." 

Under the Old Dispensation, it was explicitly 
and positively provided that "they who minis- 
tered at the temple should live of the things of 
the temple." This statute "was ordained in 
Israel " for the purpose of securing to the "priests 
and Levites" a just and liberal support. In lieu 
of an inheritance among their brethren, provision 
was made for their temporal wants by taxing all 
the other tribes. Besides the " cities and suburbs " 
appropriated to their use, and a share in the 
"daily offerings of the Lord," this one tribe 
among the twelve was furnished with a regular 
tithe (a tenth) of all the avails of the harvest and 
the vintage. In a word, this one tribe was more 
amply provided for than any of the remaining 
eleven. Under no circumstances were the de- 
mands of the law relaxed. Whether the proceeds 
of the harvest and vintage were abundant or de- 
ficient, still the "statute" was imperative. In- 
deed, so rigid was the great Jehovah in its en- 
forcement, that his blessings, neither spiritual nor 
temporal, were to be expected when this law was 
disregarded. The command was, "Bring ye all 



PULPIT AND PEW. 253 

the tithes into the storehouse"; and unless the 
requisition was complied with, the windows of 
heaven were not opened,' nor were blessings 
poured out upon the people. JSfor has the careful 
reader of the history of the Jews, as recorded in 
the Old Testament Scriptures, failed to observe 
that their spiritual and temporal condition varied 
according as they complied with, or disregarded, 
the law of Grod in this particular. The truth is, 
some of the severest, some of the most direful 
calamities which befell the Israelitish nation, 
came upon that people because they refused to 
"honor G-od with their substance" as he had 
directed, and thereby drove his priests from the 
temple to follow some secular employment, (See 
]STeh. xiii. 10, 11.) 

Under the New Testament Dispensation, it is 
true, the office of the priesthood, for which such 
liberal provision had been made, was abolished; 
but another was created, which is to take its 
place for all time to come. The gospel ministry, 
therefore, is in the room and stead of the priest- 
hood — is, so to speak, its legitimate successor. 
This being true, it must surely be entitled to the 
benefits which its j)redecessor enjoyed, viz., ex- 
emption from the cares and anxieties of temporal 
things, and a liberal support. Indeed, when we 
take into account the greatly-increased labors of 
the gospel ministry over those of the Old Testa- 
ment priesthood, we see good and sufficient reasons 
for additional exertions and for additional 



254 PULPIT AND PEW. 

liberality. The blessed Saviour, however, has not 
left the matter in doubt or uncertainty. He who 
abolished the priesthood, and substituted in its 
place the "ministry of reconciliation," did not 
fail to teach what he demanded of both classes — 
ministers and people. When he called men to 
the work of the ministry he gave them clearly to 
understand that they must forsake their temporal 
avocations; consequently, no difference what their 
"trade or profession" was — whether that of 
fishermen or of tax-gatherers — they at once aban- 
doned those callings and "followed him." After 
giving them the proper instructions, and after 
conferring upon them those spiritual gifts which 
were to qualify them to meet the responsibilities 
which he had imposed upon them, he said, "Pro- 
vide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your 
purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two 
coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the work- 
man is worthy of his meat." (Matt. x. 9, 10.) 
From this it will be seen that the blessed Saviour 
expressly forbade that they should provide for 
themselves more than they carried away with 
them when they entered upon their mission ; but 
required them to depend upon the people to whom 
they preached, and gave as the reason, "the work- 
man is worthy of his meat." To the same effect 
precisely were his instructions to the seventy. 
(See Luke x. 7.) Here the language is, "the 
laborer is worthy of his hire." 

Let it not be forgotten that this is the first com- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 255 

mission received from their Lord. These disciples, 
too, be it remembered, were sent first to the Jews, 
who, from their earliest history as a nation, had 
been taught that their religious teachers were en- 
titled to a liberal support. Nor could the Jews, 
as the Saviour knew, deny their obligations to 
support the men who were now in the room and 
stead of the priesthood without disregarding a 
law which, centuries before, had been enacted by 
the Head of the Church. Then,. does not every 
one see that Christ, at the very commencement 
of the gospel dispensation, asserted the right of 
the ministry which he had chosen to a support 
from those to whom they were sent to preach? 
Did he not establish it as a principle of his king- 
dom? Yea, did he not place the obligation to 
support his ministers upon the same ground of 
moral right as that of the priesthood? No one 
who is capable of comprehending the import of 
language can answer these questions in the 
negative. 

Again, Paul, in his first letter to the Church at 
Corinth, presents a most conclusive argument 
upon the subject. (See 1 Cor. ix. 4-15.) He 
says (verses 4-6) "Have we not power to eat 
and to drink? Have we not power to lead about 
a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as 
the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only 
and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear 
working?" The word power in the foregoing, as 
the original shows, means right, privilege, authority. 



256 rULPIT AND PEW. 

It seems that some one had been silly enough to 
call in question Paul's right to a support from 
the people to whom he preached; and with that 
boldness and independence which ever character- 
ized the man, he sharply resented the injustice, 
by asserting that he was not only entitled to a 
support for himself, but for a wife also, if he saw 
proper to marry. He then asks (verse 7), " Who 
goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? 
who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the 
fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth 
not of the milk of the flock?" Here he makes 
the point clear and emphatic, that a minister of 
the gospel has as good a right to a support as a 
soldier has to his wages, or the husbandman to 
the fruits and flocks of his own fields and herds. 
As proof upon this point, he says (verses 8-10), 
"Say I these things as a man? or saith not the 
law the same also? For it is written in the law 
of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the 
ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take 
care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our 
sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: 
that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and 
that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker 
of his hope." In the three verses which precede, 
the Apostle, in perfect accord with the teaching 
of the blessed Saviour upon this point, positively 
asserts that the gospel ministry has the same 
right to a pecuniary support as had the priest- 
hood of which it is the successor. These verses, 



TULPIT AND PEW. 257 

too, prepare the way for the overwhelming appeal 
contained in the eleventh verse. "If we have 
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing 
if we shall reap your carnal things?" As if he 
had said, You who would pay the soldier for his 
services; you who would give the fruit of the 
vineyard to him that planted it; you who would 
permit him who fed the flock to drink the milk 
of it — will you, I say, grudge to give us a portion 
of your earthly things, while we have sown unto 
you spiritual things? Will you thus virtually 
declare that he who labors for your bodies better 
deserves a reward than he who seeks the good of 
your souls? And will you cheerfully remunerate 
the one, and withhold from the other? He then 
adds (verse 12), "If others be partakers of this 
power over you, are not we rather? Neverthe- 
less we have not used this power; but suffer all 
things, lest we should hinder the gospel of 
Christ." In the latter clause of this verse he 
says that though from prudential reasons, in that 
particular instance, he had not exercised that 
power as his right, yet he by no means intended 
to relinquish it; for in the very next verse he 
says, "Do ye not know, that they which minister 
about holy things live [esthiousin, eat] of the 
things of the temple? and they which wait at the 
altar are partakers with the altar?" Here he 
again alludes to the priesthood, and once more 
places the gospel ministry, so far as temporal 
support is concerned, upon the same footing as 
17 



258 PULPIT AND PEW. 

that of the Levitical priesthood. Then, having 
made the argument (an argument which no power 
of logic can overthrow) he triumphantly draws 
the conclusion: "Even so hath the Lord ordained, 
that they ivhich preach the gospel should live of the 
gospel." And just here, perhaps, is the proper 
place to say that to "live of the gospel" does not 
mean, as many have construed it, a bare support — ■ 
a living just above the point of starvation — it 
means a liberal, generous support, such as other 
men receive in the various callings of life. 

Many other passages of scripture might be 
quoted, showing the obligation of the member- 
ship to sustain the ministry; but surely no. one 
can ask for additional proof. Then, may we not, 
must we not, come to the conclusion that the doc- 
trine upon which we are insisting is an ordinance 
of God? If it is not as much so as any other 
Christian duty enforced by the Bible, then words 
are destitute of meaning. Who, then, has a right 
to gainsay or annul this ordinance of Heaven? 
How wicked, therefore, to defraud God's ministers 
out of their just dues! Some profess to think 
that the best way to keep a minister humble, and 
to get the most efficient service out of him, is to 
surround him with poverty. Such a pitiful ex- 
cuse, for it is not an argument, is basely unworthy 
of any man, whether saint or sinner, who claims 
to be honest. Those who utter it, for none of 
them believe it, endeavor, under the cloak of 
hypocrisy, to hide their ungodly penuriousness. 



PULPIT AND PEW. 259 

Churches, if there be any such, that would act 
upon this plea, are too niggardly to prosper, and 
should be avoided by all ministers, just as honest 
people shun a merchant who is in the habit of 
giving false weight and short measure. Such a 
sentiment should be scorned by all good people. 
Besides, if poverty is good for the minister, ought 
it not to be equally good for the membership? 
Those who oppose a liberal support for the minis- 
try invariably cite the conduct of Paul in refus- 
ing compensation at the hands of the Corinthians. 
True, he did decline in that particular case; but 
he did not even intimate that it was morally or 
legally wrong for him to receive aid. Indeed, it 
was the only Church from which he did refuse to 
receive wages. The reason he did so in this case 
was, his motives had been assailed; and as the 
Church at Corinth was made up of converted 
Pagans who, of course, knew nothing scarcely of 
the Scripture rule upon this subject, Paul deemed 
it expedient, in that particular instance, to refuse 
compensation. Eut, as stated previously, it was 
a matter of expediency, and not of right, as the 
Apostle teaches. If, however, Paul had pursued 
such a course generally, still it would not affect the 
principle contended for, because he was inspired, 
and did not need time for the preparation of his 
sermons, as ministers of the present age do. Let, 
then, no one plead the conduct of Paul, in this 
case, as an excuse for refusing to support the 
ministry. 



260 PULPIT AND PEW. 

Then, in conclusion upon this all-important 
subject, let every Christian determine, by the help 
of God, to do his whole duty. The money which 
should be given to the ministry may be withheld; 
but, if it is done, it will be at the peril of God's 
displeasure. Instead of benefiting the professed 
Christian who thus holds on to it, it will be a 
curse to him and to his children. Eather, then, than 
put it into his own coffer, he had better do with 
it as Judas did with the money which he obtained 
by betraying Christ — "cast it down." No Chris- 
tian can prosper who "robs God." 

Now, as to the exact amount which the minis- 
ter is to receive, the New Testament, of course, 
is silent; for that depends upon "numerous cir- 
cumstances" which need not be mentioned here. 
But one thing is evident, no congregation, no in- 
dividual, has come up to the full measure of duty 
unless the minister is comfortably supported. 
Nor is it any more just or reasonable to expect a 
minister of the gospel to labor simply for a bare 
living than to expect that others shall do so. To 
him as well as to others there comes a "rainy 
day," and an "infirm old age"; and he has the 
same right to provide against these that any one 
else has. Indeed, he has a stronger reason for 
doing so than any other class of professional men; 
for of all professional men, none are "laid upon 
the shelf" on account of old age at so early a day 
as are ministers of the gospel. 

Let, then, no Christian professor "lay the flat- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 261 

tering unction to his soul" that he can disregard 
his obligation to sustain the gospel. The eyes of 
Jesus are upon the contributions made to his 
cause now, just as they were when "he sat over 
against the treasury" while he was upon earth. 
(See Mark xii. 41.) No man, therefore, however 
expert he may be in deceiving his fellow-man, can 
deceive Christ. Moreover, the same God who 
struck down Ananias and Sapphira for refusing 
to give the amount which they should have be- 
stowed, is as powerful to-day as he was when that 
unfaithful household withheld its contributions 
from his cause. (See Acts v. 1-10.) True, he 
may not, as in that case, strike those dead who 
refuse to do their duty; but as sure as God exists, 
and as sure as the Bible is true, no Christian can 
disregard his obligation, in this particular, with- 
out suffering, sooner or later, the displeasure of 
that Being who has said, " Yengeance is mine; I 
will repay, saith the Lord." Let, then, every 
Christian resolve, by the help of God, that he will 
do his whole duty in this regard, and do it cheer- 
fully. But, under no circumstances, let him wait 
until God sends his messengers of ( vengeance — 
sickness, death, fire, disaster, etc. — to collect his 
just and equitable claims. 

14. They must disseminate the religion which they 
profess — -must have a missionary spirit. 

It is impossible, in a few pages, to do justice to 
a subject fraught with such interests as is the one 



262 pulpit and pew. 

under consideration. It must suffice, therefore, to 
present simply the leading arguments, and to do 
that, too, in rather a summaryway. 

Before, however, presenting the arguments in 
favor of missions, it will not be out of place to 
briefly consider some of the principal objections 
which are urged in opposition — arguments used 
by those who refuse to engage in the missionary 
work. 

Some object on the ground that it is too 
costly — that it requires too large a per cent, of 
the contributions made to meet the expenses of 
the Boards which have this matter in charge. 
But is it true? Do our Missionary Boards cost 
more than any other charitable or commercial 
institutions? Without hesitation the question is 
answered in the negative. If we take all the 
Boards of the different Churches of Christendom, 
and make an average of the per cent, demanded 
for conducting them, we will find that the amount 
will not exceed eight per cent. Will these Boards, 
then, suffer in comparison Avith even our most 
popular and best-managed commercial institu- 
tions? A few, perhaps, who read this statement 
may be prepared to show from the statistics of 
their own denominations that their Boards of 
Missions consume more than eight per cent.; but 
the reason therefor can be easily explained: the 
entire amount given for missions by their denomina- 
tions is so utterly insignificant, in comparison with 
what it should be, that it requires a large per cent, of 






PULPIT AND PEW. 263 

it to pay one officer even a meager salary. Without 
the fear of successful contradiction the statement 
is made that there is not, in all Christendom, a 
denomination of one hundred thousand members 
which could not bring down the expenses of its 
Board of Missions to less than six per cent, if the 
membership would give to the cause as it is re- 
quired to do by the Bible. Then away with such 
an objection, The only reason why the expenses 
consume so large a per cent, is because of the 
parsimonious contributions of the membership. 
Those persons, then, who resort to such a pretext 
for not giving to the cause of missions, should re- 
member that the plea which they offer is, to use 
the mildest expression, by no means creditable to 
themselves. They are the authors of the difficulty of 
which they complain. 

Another objection urged is, we have enough to 
do at home — have the heathen at our own doors. 
Those who offer this objection never fail to quote 
what they consider a very appropriate passage of 
scripture — "Charity begins at home." But, un- 
fortunately for them, there is no such language 
in the Bible ! Eichard Watson, one of the finest 
writers of this century, in speaking of this hack- 
neyed phrase, says, " It is a neat pocket edition 
of selfishness." ISTo better definition, perhaps, 
could be given of it. " Charity begins. at home! " 
How ridiculous, how absurd ! The truth is, there 
can be no charity until we get beyond home. 

But it is a sufficient answer to this objection to 



264 PULPIT AND PEW. 

say that those who urge it the most vehemently 
do less for the gospel at home than any one else; 
and that the sentiment is in direct conflict with 
the teachings of Christ and with the conduct of 
the apostles. If the latter had waited until all 
Judea — their own country — had been converted 
before they tried to save the heathen, what would 
have become of the Gentile world? The entire 
population of the globe, to-day, except that small 
area, would be without God and without hoj^e in 
the world ! 

Again, we are told that the results accomplished 
do not justify such heavy outlays of money. Of 
course, no well-informed person will urge such an 
objection, for facts palpably contradict it. Statis- 
tics which are entirely reliable, and which would 
be here given did space permit, show that the 
foreign field, for years past, has yielded more con- 
verts in proportion to the labor and means ex- 
pended than the home field. 

Do we ask for additional testimony in reference 
to "results"? If so. all we have to do is to turn 
our eyes to the Sandwich Islands, to Madagascar, 
to the Friendly Islands, to the Fiji Islands, etc., 
etc., which were in a few years, comparatively, 
converted from the grossest idolatry — yea, from 
cannibalism to Christianity; and which to-day 
are sparkling jewels in the Saviour's crown. In 
addition to these, look at the grand achievements 
of the Cross in India, Australia, China, Japan, 
etc., etc. Besides the unnumbered thousands who 



PULPIT AND PEW. 265 

have thus been brought to Christ by missionary 
effort, the Holy Scriptures have been translated, 
printed, and circulated in nearly three hundred 
of the dialects of our race. Nearly all of these 
translations, too, have been made by missionaries 
in the field, while engaged in their regular mis- 
sion work of preaching and teaching. In a word, 
the whole Gentile world, embracing the most 
powerful and most enlightened nations upon the 
globe, are the grand conquests of missions. 

Having briefly considered the objections to 
missions, we are now prepared to weigh the argu- 
ments on the other side of the question. 

A strong argument in favor of the position as- 
sumed grows out of the fact that the religion of 
the Bible is adapted to all, and is intended for all. 
Of all the systems of religion known to the 
world, that system which is taught in the Sacred 
Scriptures is the only one which is adapted* to the 
wants of man. It is the only one, too, which 
could possibly become universal — the only one 
suited to all climes, to all peoples, and to all ages. 
There is not a more complete adaptation between 
the eye and light, between the ear and sound, be- 
tween the air and the respiratory organs, than 
there is between the religion of the Bible and the 
wants of the whole human family. Other 
systems, like the vegetable productions of the 
earth, have their distinct boundaries — lines which 
they cannot pass and live. But the religion of 
the Bible is indigenous — is at home everywhere, 



266 PULPIT AND PEW. 

whether upon "Greenland's icy mountains, or on 
India's coral strand." No country on this broad 
earth has ever been discovered where the "rose 
of Sharon" will not grow; nor can there be found 
a people, "from pole to pole," who do not need 
the religion which the Bible inculcates. It is de- 
signed for the world, and is suited to the exigences 
of the world. It has a universality of purpose, 
and a universality of character, distinguishing it 
from all other systems. Its precepts and doc- 
trines are adapted to every period. They belong 
specially to no civilization, to no age, to no race. 
As to other religions, as has been intimated, they 
are purely local, without even the conception of 
a universal extension. They have risen, flour- 
ished, and decayed, within their narrow domains, 
except only as they have been propagated by the 
sword. No religion, save that of the Bible, has 
grasped the idea of one faith for all nations, and 
has taught that its field is the world, and its home 
the heart of every human being. It can reach 
men just where they are, notwithstanding their 
peculiarities of race, color, climate, etc., and make 
them the friends of God and the heirs of everlast- 
ing life. It needs no pioneer. It invokes no 
other agencies to prepare the way of its coming. 
It is itself the pioneer of Jehovah — the herald of 
the great King. 

The human race is one great brotherhood. All 
men are sinners, and all men need a Saviour. If, 
too, the gospel can save one man, it can save all 



PULPIT AND PEW. 267 

men. If one man needs it, then all men need it. 
The gospel is just as necessary to the heathen as 
it is to us. If this is not true, then the Yedas and 
the Koran are as valuable as the Bible; and Con- 
fucius and Mohammed are as authoritative as 
Christ. But who can so say? or so believe? 
Nothing can take the place of the religion of the 
Bible. It is the only panacea for human sorrow. 
Other systems of religion, for ages past, have been 
thoroughly tried, and have utterly failed to meet 
the wants of the immortal soul. The gospel of 
Christ contains the only rational solution to the 
question, "How shall man be just with God"? 
Scientists, it is true, profess to be- in doubt as to 
the unity of the human race; and they go round 
considering the thickness of skulls, measuring the 
size of heads and length of heels; and then sit 
down in perplexity and doubt ! But the gospel, 
by its adaptation to the wants of universal man, 
as well as by its own words, says in language 
which cannot be misinterpreted, " God hath made 
of one blood all nations of men." 

Not only, however, is the gospel adapted to all, 
but it is intended for all. On this point the 
Divine record is clear and emphatic. "God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16.) 
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because 
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were 
all dead." (2 Cor. v. 14.) "Who gave himself a 



268 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 
Tim. ii. 6.) " Come unto me, all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
(Matt. xi. 28.) 

Hundreds of similar passages, as the reader 
knows, could be given ; but these are sufficient to 
prove that Christ "tasted death for every man"; 
and, consequently, that his gospel is intended for 
all. The field, then, in which the Christian is to 
labor is the world. But how can the world "be- 
lieve without a preacher? and how can they 
preach except they be sent?" 

]SText, gratitude demands the exercise of such a 
spirit, and the heart of every true Christian 
prompts him to comply with the duty. The 
Christian knows the value of the gospel. Once 
he was an unpardoned sinner. Every human ex- 
pedient was tried, but no relief came. But when 
he trusted in Christ, light came — yea, "joy un- 
speakable and full of glory" filled his soul. Now, 
should he not feel grateful for this inestimable 
blessing? Ought he not to do all in his power to 
have others drink of the same inexhaustible 
fountain of Divine love? What would he take 
for the hopes which the gospel has inspired in his 
own soul? For what would he barter away his 
prospects for heaven? — have no more delightful 
seasons in the closet and in the sanctuary? — no 
sacramental communions? — no Pisgah views? — 
no fellowship with Christians? — no "crown of 
life " ? While, therefore, he feels that he is an heir 



PULPIT AND PEW. 269 

to such an inheritance — "an inheritance, incor- 
ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away" — 
should he not have a burning solicitude for those 
who are " without God, and without hope in the 
world"? 

Who can estimate the claim of redemption? 
"What! know ye not that ye are not your own? 
for ye are bought with a price!" Alas, that our 
familiarity with the grand scheme of redemption 
should ever diminish the freshness and force of 
its claim ! — that we do not always feel as if the 
price had just been paid! Did we properly ap- 
preciate it, if there were only one human being 
in the world who had never heard of Jesus Christ, 
we would feel that it was worthy the combined 
efforts of all Christians to labor for his salvation. 
What exertions have been made to find Sir John 
Franklin and his comrades — only lost in the 
Arctic seas ! Then how diligent should Christians 
be in search of the teeming millions of heathen 
who, knowing nothing of God and of his religion, 
are in imminent danger of being lost, body and 
soul, in hell forever ! 

But, as has been stated, the heart of every 
genuine Christian urges him to comply with this 
duty. When he feels the love of God in his own 
heart; when he contemplates the grand scheme 
of redemption, he is not only ready to exclaim in 
the language of the poet, 

"Enough for all, enough for each, 
Enough for evermore;" 



270 PULPIT AND PEW. 

but he is ready to aid in the dissemination of that 
religion "to earth's remotest bounds "— feels that 
his piety should be essentially missionary, and 
that it is his imperative duty to work for the 
evangelization of the whole world. There are 
many reasons why all Christians thus feel. They 
know that provision has been made for all; that 
all need it; and that, without it, no sinner can be 
saved. They also desire to see the kingdom of 
Christ extended because they themselves belong 
to that kingdom — "are heirs of God and joint 
heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ." They, there- 
fore, feel that "all things" are theirs; and that 
when God calls upon them to aid in " lengthening 
the cords and strengthening the stakes" of Zion, 
he is simply calling upon them to increase their 
own inheritance. The heirs of a throne are will- 
ing to see immense treasures expended in build- 
ing up that throne. Believers, then, in a certain 
sense, have the same interest in disseminating the 
gospel that God himself has ; for each one of them 
is a member of that " little flock " to whom it is 
the " Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom." 
An additional argument is based upon the fact 
that such a spirit promotes religious growth and 
development. A Church-member who is destitute 
of the "spirit of missions," is destitute of the 
spirit of Christ. The Great Teacher said, "Go 
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature" — not to the Jewish nation only, 
but to all nations. In his broad and comprehen- 



PULPIT AND PEW. 271 

sive plan "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circum- 
cision nor un circumcision, barbarian, Scythian, 
bond nor free." The commission, then, was not 
limited to those to whom it was personally given, 
but extends to their successors — to all who 
"should believe on him through their word." It - 
was intended to embrace all Christians — minis- 
ters and laymen — of every age. The words of 
that commission, therefore, are just as binding 
upon Christians of the present day as they were 
upon those who heard them fall from the lips of 
Christ himself. Indeed, unless we so interpret 
that language, we cannot, at this period, possibly 
claim the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, 
even to the end of the world." If, therefore, we 
would confine the command to the apostolic age, 
we must, of necessity, confine the promise to the 
same period. But every one capable of under- 
standing the import of language knows that such 
an interpretation which would thus limit the lan- 
guage referred to is not only unnatural but ab- 
surd. Neither the command nor the promise was 
local or temporary; but both are the words of a 
King who "cannot die; and they are addressed, 
by the highest authority, to each one of his sub- 
jects." True, there are many more now than 
then who are thus addressed ; but numbers can- 
not diminish or dilute our obligations. On the 
contrary, they increase them ; for numbers permit 
organization, and organization augments power. 
There is nothing selfish in the Christian relig- 



272 PULPIT AND PEW. 

ion. Each one's share of the divine treasure is 
not diminished, but rather increased by reason of 
the multitude of participants. The prize gained 
by one earnest runner in the Christian race is not 
therefore lost, but rather rendered doubly secure 
and precious to all who may be induced to be- 
come aspirants. In the pursuit of wealth it may 
be natural, however culpable, to begrudge another 
his gains, or to be elated at our own acquisitions ; 
for wealth is a limited good. One man's money 
cannot be his and another's at the same time; 
and what the former may gain the latter may 
lose. In other words, it is possible for one per- 
son to be enriched at another's expense. The 
same is true in reference to contests for power, 
rank, social position, etc. But with respect to 
spiritual good — the gains and advantages of re- 
ligion — it is altogether different. The latter be- 
long to that class of blessings which possess the 
quality of universality and inexhaustibleness. 
The light of the sun is not the less bright to one 
person because it shines at the same moment 
upon millions of others. The beauty which one 
man beholds "in earth aria sky" is not dimin- 
ished by the multitude of spectators who may 
share in his delight. Of a thousand persons who 
may behold the same landscape, each may be said 
to possess all the beauty. In like manner, those 
blessings which constitute the Christian's portion 
may become the common possession of myriads, 
each one of whom may be said to possess the 






PULPIT AND PEW. 273 

whole. The same blessed truths which fill the 
soul of one may become the spiritual nutriment 
of all his fellow-beings. 

To some the remark may seem extravagant, 
but it is true : there can be no Christianity without 
a missionary spirit. What are the fundamental 
principles of Christianity? They are, "Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," 
and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 
" On these two commandments hang all the law 
and the prophets." Fortunately for us, too, the 
same " Master in Israel," who made this grand 
summary of moral and religious obligation, has 
not left us in doubt as to "who is my neighbor." 
In the parable of the Good Samaritan the great 
lesson is taught that he "is my neighbor" whom I 
can benefit — the weakest, the humblest, the most 
ignorant, the most benighted; and the greater 
the want, the more painful his state, the more 
helpless and forsaken his condition, the more and 
more, in the sense of the parable, is he "my 
neighbor." 

No Church, then, can prosper, even at home, un- 
less it looks beyond the horizon of self. A dis- 
tinguished writer has said, "The heathen nations 
need missions, but Christian nations need them 
also." As to the truth of this remark there can 
be no doubt. It is the reflex influence of missions 
which the Christian nations need. No Church, no 
Christian, can prosper spiritually that docs not 
IS 



274 PULPIT AND PEW. 

cultivate a missionary spirit. He that watereth 
shall be watered also himself. In the effort to 
Christianize the heathen, the Church gains spirit- 
ual strength. A denomination which proposes to 
simply "hold its own" will soon become extinct; 
and the sooner it does, the better it will be. 
Nothing can supply such a defect— yea, such a 
palpable violation of the spirit and letter of the 
gospel. "Wealth, social position, creeds, rituals, 
etc., amount to nothing, if a missionary spirit be 
absent. That is a true Church, and no other is, 
which respects the command, " Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." 
To do so is to obey Christ; to refuse is to despise 
his authority. In a word, find where we may a 
Church that is interested upon the subject of mis- 
sions, and we will not fail to find a prosperous 
one. But, on the contrary, find where we may a 
Church which, . Grallio-like, "cares for none of 
these things," and we shall find a lifeless one — one 
which may have " a name to live," but it is simply 
a carcass. -Nor should we be the least astonished 
at this; for the Church that does not look beyond 
self is acting in direct violation of the Sacred 
Scriptures. Spiritual death, therefore, is the 
legitimate retribution of such narrow, contracted 
views and plans. If we would succeed we must do 
Christ's work in Christ's way. 

Finally, upon this point, the blessed Saviour 

has made it the imperative duty of his followers 

- to engage -in- this work., - No.one can read the New 



PULPIT AND PEW. 275 

Testament without coming to the conclusion that 
"the Captain of our Salvation" relies upon the 
grand army composing his Church for the con- 
quest of a world in revolt. To enable it to per- 
form the work assigned it, he has furnished it 
with all the spiritual weapons it needs. Being it- 
self a monument of the power and efficiency of 
Divine truth, it is made its duty and privilege to 
employ the same instrumentality for the evangel- 
ization of the world. To it Christ has committed 
the sacred treasure; and, in so doing, he has re- 
quired it to disburse the invaluable blessing for 
the benefit of the whole human race. As long, 
therefore, as there is one unsaved sinner — no dif* 
ference where he is, whether in Christian or 
heathen lands — the Church can never # feel that its 
work is done — that its mission is accomplished. 
In its hands is placed the lever that is to lift the 
groaning millions from degradation and sorrow, 
and make them "heirs of God and joint heirs 
with Christ." Thus furnished and endowed, it is 
to go forth into every clime—" on the land and on 
the sea" — through the whole extent of this out- 
cast globe — calling upon its guilty inhabitants " to 
behold the Lamb of G-od which taketh away the 
sin of the world." Its mission is to the human 
race; its tidings are the wonders of Calvary; its 
object, the moral emancipation of a world. It is 
with this view that the Church has been selected 
as the receptacle of light from heaven- — the radiat- 
ing center of moral influence — the reservoir 



276 PULPIT AND PEW. 

whence the waters of mercy poured down from 
their celestial fountain, are to flow out in millions 
of divergent streams, to purify and save the sons 
and daughters of apostate Adam. Our blessed 
Lord has pronounced upon this duty his own au- 
thoritative decision, in words so direct and ex- 
plicit that no sophistry can evade their force or 
question their import. He is the King of Zion, 
and the Sovereign of conscience— a Saviour not 
only to be trusted but obeyed. His will is law; 
and, as a declaration of that will, he has said, 
' 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature." That command has not been 
revoked It is still the unrepealed and immutable 
statute of the kingdom. JSTor will it ever be re- 
voked or ^superseded, until the most remote 
dwellers on the globe are made to feel its power. 
This is his last and highest precept — the universal, 
ever-binding enactment which he has left as the 
directory of his people, in all conditions and for 
all time. Nor can they prove unfaithful to it 
without frustrating the chief end of their calling, 
and increasing the fearful guilt of treason to their 
Lord and Master. True, the blessed Saviour, as 
"all power in heaven and on earth" is his, might 
have made a different provision for propagating 
his gospel. He might have given a complete 
Bible in every language and tongue; and he 
might have sent his holy angels to proclaim it. 
But it is presumption in the highest degree to 
stop and consider what he might have done; the 



PULPIT AND PEW. 277 

question which concerns us is, what has he done — 
what is his plan for disseminating his religion? 
With the Bible in our hands, this question is 
easily answered: his people are to do that work. 
Apart from this there is no agency in the universe 
whose business it is to make known the grand . 
scheme of redemption. If, then, the Church fails 
to sow the seed, to deposit "the leaven in the 
lump," that seed will never germinate, the lump 
will never be quickened. 

Who, then, can estimate the consequences of 
fidelity or neglect in the discharge of the mo- 
mentous trust committed to the Church? What 
grand conquests could be made by the "Zion of 
our God " if its ministers and members would, in 
good faith, recognize and meet the obligations 
which are upon them in this particular! The 
opportunities now offered for the accomplishment 
of this work never existed before. Never, not 
even id the apostolic age, has the Church had ac- 
cess to so many and such efficient agencies for 
publishing the gospel to the world. Its mission- 
aries may traverse every continent, and gain ac- 
cess to almost every island of the sea. Most of 
the languages of the globe have been reduced to 
writing, and the press affords the means of mul- 
tiplying indefinitely copies of the word of life — 
"the sword of the Spirit." Literature, science, 
commerce, and emigration are all lending their 
aid to disseminate the religion of the Bible. The 
prophetic "handful of corn" has already been 



278 PULPIT AND PEW. 

planted on the tops of the mountains whose fruit 
is to "shake like Lebanon." The God of mis- 
sions is shaking the nations. He on whose 
vesture is written King of kings and Lord of 
lords," now rallies his Church for the conquest of 
the world; and on his banner is inscribed, in 
characters of blood, "All power is given unto me 
in heaven and on earth; and lo, I am with you 
alway, even to the end of the world." In what 
position do we personally stand in reference to 
this important, this delightful duty? As mem- 
bers of the great Christian family, each one of us 
has a work to do. Are we devoting to that work 
our time and talents — yea, the whole active energy 
of our ransomed nature? Are we occupying that 
high ground of religious consistency and personal 
holiness which will best fit us for its successful 
prosecution? Only so far as we thus live, are we 
meeting the solemn duties of our profession. If 
indifferent and unfaithful here, we are but cum- 
berers in the vineyard of the Lord — salt that has 
lost its savor — fountains whose waters are pois- 
oned. Let us, then, awake to the glory of Christ, 
and to the wants of a perishing world. The war- 
fare in which we are engaged is not an uncertain 
one. It may be a severe and a prolonged one ; 
but victory is sure. " The kingdoms of this 
world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
of his Christ." 



PULPIT AND PEW. 279 

The foregoing closes what we have to say to 
the membership; and in concluding this little 
volume, we have a brief word of exhortation to 
both classes — preachers and people; and the 
author embraces himself as being one of the 
number most needing the admonition which is 
given. 

There is a day coming in which " God shall 
bring every work into judgment" — a day in 
which the secrets of every life, whether good or 
evil, will be disclosed — a day in which all that has 
been done, and all that has been neglected, will 
be brought to light; and every one shall be re- 
warded " according to his works." Dear brethren 
in Christ Jesus, are we ready for that solemn 
ordeal? Have we been as faithful as we should 
have been? Have we no desire to add another 
star to our crown of rejoicing? Have we no dis- 
position to re-consecrate ourselves to God and to 
his service? May the Spirit of all grace rebaptize 
all of our hearts, and may each one of us heed 
the words of the sacred poet: 

"Be in earnest, Christian worker, 
In your life of faith and love ; 
Jesus calls you to his service — 
Calls you from his throne above. 

"Be in earnest, O my brother, 
In the work of winning souls ; 
Go and bring the lost to Jesus, 
Bring them to his gracious folds. 



280 PULPIT AND PEW. 

"Be in earnest; time is passing, 
You are hasting to the tomb; 
Just before you is the judgment 
That shall seal the idler's doom. 

" Be in earnest ; soon the conflicts 
Of your pilgrimage will cease, 
Soon you'll hear the gracious plaudit, 
Soon partake of heavenly peace." 

"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward 
is with me, to give to every man according as his 
work shall be." "Blessed are they that do his 
commandments, that they may have right to the 
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
inta the city." (Eev. xxii. 12, 14.) 



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